Supersymmetric Mechanics - Vol. 2

This is the second volume in a series of books on the general theme of Supersymmetric Mechanics; the series is based on lectures and discussions held in 2005 and 2006 at the INFN-Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati. The first volume appears as Lect. Notes Physics, Vol. 698 "Supersymmetric Mechanics , Vol .1: Supersymmetry, Noncommutativity and Matrix Models" (2006) ISBN: 3-540-33313-4. The present extensive lecture supplies a pedagogical introduction, at the non-expert level, to the attractor mechanism in space-time singularities. In such a framework, supersymmetry seems to be related to dynamical systems with fixed points, describing the equilibrium state and the stability features of the thermodynamics of black holes. After a qualitative overview, explicit examples realizing the attractor mechanism are treated at some length; they include relevant cases of asymptotically flat, maximal and non-maximal, extended supergravities in 4 and 5 dimensions. A number of recent advances along various directions of research on the attractor mechanism are also given.