New Lectures on Supergravity

The contemporary physics is at a crossroad. On one hand general relativity points to the understanding of the universe at large scales. On the other hand quantum mechanics (more specifically quantum field theory) seems to be the only useful tool to give us a consistent model for the universe at the immediate vicinity of its origin. Both theories are magnificent intellectual constructs and showed great success in their respective scales. However they seem to resist to any attempt to reconcile them in a single model. This work aims to indicate ways to solve some of the main open issues with respect to gravitation and its compatibility with the quantum structure of matter noting that it may be necessary to renounce the idea of unification at least in the strictest sense.