supercharge

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In theoretical physics, a supercharge is a generator of supersymmetry transformations. It is an example of the general notion of a charge in physics.

Supercharge, denoted by the symbol Q, is an operator which transforms bosons into fermions, and vice versa. Since the supercharge operator changes a particle with spin one-half to a particle with spin one or zero, the supercharge itself is a spinor that carries one half unit of spin.{{cite web |title=Supersymmetry to the rescue? |url=http://www.superstringtheory.com/experm/exper4a.html |website=The Official String Theory Web Site |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102164833/http://www.superstringtheory.com/experm/exper4a.html |archive-date=2018-11-02}}{{cite web |last1=von Hippel |first1=Matthew |title=Supersymmetry, to the Rescue! |url=https://4gravitons.com/supersymmetry-to-the-rescue/ |website=4 Gravitons The trials and tribulations of four gravitons and a postdoc |access-date=18 April 2021}}

Depending on the context, supercharges may also be called Grassmann variables or Grassmann directions; they are generators of the exterior algebra of anti-commuting numbers, the Grassmann numbers. All these various usages are essentially synonymous; they refer to the $\backslash mathbb\{Z\}\_2$ grading between bosons and fermions, or equivalently, the grading between c-numbers and a-numbers. Calling it a charge emphasizes the notion of a symmetry at work.