LITTLE MIRACLES OF SUPERSYMMETRIC EVOLUTION OF GAUGE COUPLINGS

The invention of supersymmetry, almost exactly 25 years ago, changed the face of high-energy physics. The idea that the observed low-energy gauge groups appear due to the process of spontaneous breaking of a single unifying group $G$ is also quite popular. The synthesis of these two elements results in supersymmetric grand unification. I present (perturbatively) exact results regarding the supersymmetric evolution of the gauge couplings from the scale of their unification to lower scales. In particular, it is shown how the heavy mass thresholds can be properly taken into account to all orders.
Extended version of the talk at the 4th International Workshop on Supersymmetry and Unification of Fundamental Interactions -- SUSY-96, May 29 -- June 1, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA; 25 pages, 2 figures