We review the theoretical and phenomenological aspects of the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model: the Higgs sector including radiative corrections and the 2-loop beta-functions for all parameters of the general NMSSM; the tadpole and domain wall problems, baryogenesis; NMSSM phenomenology at colliders, B physics and dark matter; specific scenarios as the constrained NMSSM, Gauge Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking, U(1)'-extensions, CP and R-parity violation.Comment: 144 pages, 11 figures, corrections in Eqs.(2.2), (2.21), (B.9

Abstract.We consider the cosmology of a "3-brane universe" in a five dimensional (bulk) space-time with a cosmological constant. We show that Einstein's equations admit a first integral, analogous to the first Friedmann equation, which governs the evolution of the metric in the brane, whatever the time evolution of the metric along the fifth dimension. We thus obtain the cosmological evolution in the brane for any equation of state describing the matter in the brane, without needing the dependence of the metric on the fifth dimension. In the particular case p = wρ, (w = constant), we give explicit expressions for the time evolution of the brane scale factor, which show that standard cosmological evolution can be obtained (after an early non conventional phase) in a scenarioà la Randall and Sundrum, where a brane tension compensates the bulk cosmological constant. We also show that a tiny deviation from exact compensation leads to an effective cosmological constant at late time. Moreover, when the metric along the fifth dimension is static, we are able to extend the solution found on the brane to the whole spacetime.

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