1616 supergravity coupled to matter: The low energy limit of the superstring

We analyze irreducible, N = 1 supergravity theories with 16 fermionic degrees of freedom. The lagrangians for pure $\text{16}\text{16}$ supergravity, and for $\text{16}\text{16}$ supergravity coupled to arbitrary chiral superfields are constructed. These theories are shown to have natural SU(1,1) non-compact symmetry. The low energy field theory limit of the superstring is conjectured to be of this type.     

Extended supergravity on the supergroup manifold: N = 3 and N = 2 theories

In this paper I construct the group-manifold first-order formulation of N = 2 and N = 3 supergravity based on the $\text{Osp}\text{(}\text{4}\text{2}\text{)}\text{and Osp}\text{(}\text{4}\text{3}\text{)}$ supergroups, respectively. In the case N = 2, a group manifold version of the theory was already presented in a previous paper. Here a simpler formulation is given which shows exact factorization in the SO(2) subgroup absent in the previous one. Particular attention is paid to the algebraic role played by the $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{1}\text{2}$ field which is the novel feature of the N = 3 case with respect to N = 2. It is shown how the “non-geometrical” term in the gravitino transformation law in the N = 2 theory arises from the rheonomic symmetry mechanism.     

Spectrum (super-) symmetries of particles in a Coulomb potential

The Schrödinger equation for a spin-0 particle in the field of a dyon is obtained by dimensional reduction of the four-dimensional harmonic oscillator; the reduction is effected by imposing an equivariance condition on the wave functions of the latter system. This geometrical construction allows for a simple derivation of the SO(4, 2) spectrum symmetry of the dyon system. A supermultiplet of one $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{1}\text{2}$ and two spin-0 particles in a Coulomb potential is demonstrated to possess an N = 2 conformal supersymmetry through a generalization of the same method. The states and wave functions for these systems can be obtained from the representation theory of the corresponding symmetry algebras. A particular case for which this approach provides a complete group theoretical analysis is that of the Pauli equation for a $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{1}\text{2}$ particle in the field of a dyon.     

A positive energy dynamics and scattering theory for directly interacting relativistic particles

Starting from the tensor product of N irreducible positive energy representations of the Poincaré group describing N free relativistic particles with arbitrary spins and positive masses, we construct an interacting positive energy representation by modifying the total 4-momentum operator. We first make a transformation to a Hilbert space on which the free total 4-momentum operator equals the product of a dimensionless center-of-mass 4-vector ($\text{(|k|}{}^2\text{+ 1)}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$, k) and a free “reduced Hamiltonian” H_r⁰, which is a positive operator acting only on internal variables, and then replace H_r⁰ by an interacting reduced Hamiltonian H_r = H_r⁰ + V, where V commutes with the Lorentz group and is such that H_r is a positive operator. The resulting product form is shown to imply that the wave operators interwine the free and interacting representations so that the S-operator is Lorentz invariant. From a physical point of view the scheme is related to the framework first introduced by Bakamjian and Thomas, in which the Hamiltonian and boost generators are modified, but the above procedure makes a mathematically rigorous discussion much simpler. In the spin-zero case we introduce a natural generalization of the pair potentials of nonrelativistic N-particle Schrödinger theory to the present relativistic setting, study its scattering theory, and point out some problems that do not have analogs at the nonrelativistic level. In the $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{1}\text{2}$ case we propose, inspired by the Dirac equation, explicit reduced Hamiltonians to describe atomic energy levels and present arguments making plausible that their eigenvalues are in closer agreement with the experimental data than their nonrelativistic counterparts. We also consider extensions to arbitrary spin and, in the $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{1}\text{2}$ case, coupling of a quantized radiation field. In view of eventual applications to “completely integrable” one-dimensional field theories the case of one space dimension is studied as well, both in quantum mechanics and in classical mechanics.     

Gravitational anomalies

It is shown that in certain parity-violating theories in 4k+2 dimensions, general covariance is spoiled by anomalies at the one-loop level. This occurs when Weyl fermions of $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{1}\text{2}\text{or}\text{-3}\text{2}$ or self-dual antisymmetric tensor fields are coupled to gravity. (For Dirac fermions there is no trouble.) The conditions for anomaly cancellation between fields of different spin is investigated. In six dimensions this occurs in certain theories with a fairly elaborate field content. In ten dimensions there is a unique theory with anomaly cancellation between fields of different spin. It is the chiral n = 2 supergravity theory, which is the low-energy limit of one of the superstring theories. Beyond ten dimensions there is no way to cancel anomalies between fields of different spin.     

Approaches to the gravitational spin-32 axial anomaly

The $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{3}\text{2}$ axial anomaly is discussed from various points of view. Two consistent theories for a $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{3}\text{2}$ field interacting with gravity are considered: supergravity and a real quantized $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{3}\text{2}$ field in a classical gravitational background. The Feynman graph method, the zeta function regularization method, the point splitting method and the topological method all yield the same result for the latter theory, in agreement with that first found by Christensen and Duff.     

Symmetry constraints in optimal polarization formalisms with an application to p−p scattering

The paper contains results (a) for the general optimal polarization formalism with constraints from time reversal invariance, identical particles, and parity conservation, (b) for the specific reaction involving four $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{1}\text{2}$ particles, (c) for the application of the formalism to elastic p?p scattering at 6 GeV/c and at 800 MeV. The choice of the orientation axes under various symmetry constraints is discussed for the general optimal formalism, showing the narrowing of the choices which nevertheless retains an infinite continuum of possibilities. The transformation properties of amplitudes among these various optimal frames are specified. The transformation of observables among these frames is also discussed for the reaction with four $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{1}\text{2}$ particles. Then the relationship between the observables and the bilinear combination of amplitudes is given for the reaction with four $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{1}\text{2}$ particles, for the constraints of identical particles, identical particles and time reversal invariance, and identical particles and time reversal invariance and parity conservation. The results are applied to the analysis of the Argonne data at 6 GeV/c, t = ?0.6 GeV²/c², for elastic p?p scattering. The amplitudes are easily determined when the proper optimal frame is used, and the display of the amplitudes in other optimal frames suggest some features that may be significant in searching for dynamics. Another application is presented to 800 MeV elastic p?p scattering at several angles, showing that in the proper optimal frame very accurate results can be obtained about a subset of amplitude parameters on the basis of an incomplete set of data. Such an analysis is shown to be helpful in the design of future experiments.     

Massive supergravity from spontaneously breaking orthosymplectic gauge symmetry

We construct a Lagrangian density which is manifestly invariant under the orthosymplectic gauge group OSP(1; 4) and under general coordinate transformations. This is done by the use of two multiplets, the symmetric and antisymmetric representations of OSP(1; 4). We present the general features of OSP(m; 2n) and, in particular, its irreducible representations. The absence of OSP(1; 4) symmetry from the ground state indicates that one of the scalar fields, which is an element of the symmetric multiplet, has a nonvanishing vacuum expectation value. A shift in the fields reveals the physical spectrum of our Lagrangian. Two Goldstone fields are present, a vector and a spinor, corresponding to the breakdown of OSP(1; 4) to the Lorentzian group. The full Lagrangian contains a graviton, a massive $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{3}\text{2}$ field, and two massive scalar fields. The generalization to OSP(2; 4) is immediate.     

Massless composites with massive constituents

We construct model field theories in which a confining gauge interaction binds massive elementary fermions into massless composite particles. The massless composites are either Goldstone bosons or $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{1}\text{2}$ fermions. In these models, the manner in which exact chiral symmetries are realized changes at a critical value of the elementary fermion mass of order (e²/16π²)Λ, where Λ is the confinement scale and e is a weak gauge coupling.     

The theory of non-renormalizable interactions: The large N expansion

A particular class of non-renormalizable interactions is studied in the infinite cut-off limit. In this paper we consider the quadrilinear interaction of an N-component field; the Lagrangian is invariant under the action of the O(N) group. The Green functions are expanded in powers of 1/N; we prove that this expansion is finite and renormalizable at all orders in not too high dimensions, the outputs are not C^∞ in the coupling constant around the origin: this property explains why divergences are present in the standard perturbative expansion. The interactions of both spin-zero and $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{1}\text{2}$ fields have been studied: peculiar problems arise in the case of a current-current interaction.     

Gauge internal symmetry in extended supergravity

Extended supergravity theories with global O(2) and SO(3) internal symmetry have recently been constructed, and a mechanism which implements local O(2) and SO(3) gauge invariance is given here. The introduction of a minimal gauge coupling automatically leads to a $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{3}\text{2}$ mass and a cosmological term in order to preserve local supersymmetry. Local internal symmetry for a $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{3}\text{2}$ field is related to spontaneous breakdown of global supersymmetry. Perturbation theory results which confirm the physical consistency of the system are given.     

Algebraic simplifications in supergravity theories

Supercovariant derivatives and supercovariant field strengths are used to put the fermionic equations of motion derived from supergravity theories in an elegant form. These results apply also to the SO(4) extended supergravity theory which is presented here. We discuss how to obtain more compact proofs of the invariance of the supergravity actions already known. In particular for the SO(2) theory a set of new auxilary fields is introduced which linearizes the equation of motion of the $\text{spin}\text{-}\text{3}\text{2}$ field.     

Consistency requirements for 1N expandable field theories

It is demonstrated that $\text{1}\text{N}$ expansion in a class of field theories with an internal O(N) symmetry leads to pathologies. Therefore, these models are either not internally consistent, or their perturbation expansions (ordinary as well as $\text{1}\text{N}$ are unreliable.     

Construction of a unitary analytic amplitude for the scattering of spin-12 particles

We study the existence, the uniqueness and the construction of unitary analytic amplitudes for $\text{spin}\text{1}\text{2}\text{?}\text{1}\text{2}$ scattering, in the framework previously introduced by Atkinson-Mahoux-Ynduráin for spin 0-0, and $\text{spin}\text{0?}\text{1}\text{2}$ scattering.     

Manifest chiral symmetry preservation in the 1N-expanded SU(N) Thirring model

By utilizing manifestly chiral-invariant auxiliary field operators, it is demonstrated that continuous chiral symmetry is preserved explicitly in the $\text{1}\text{N}$ expansion of 2-dimensional theories whose fermions have a Gross-Neveu type of potential. The effective lagrangian derived in the $\text{1}\text{N}$ limit describes a massless scalar field whose derivative coupling to the fermions vanishes as N → ∞, and a decoupled massive scalar field.     

Isospin analysis of the reactions pp→N(Nπ) at 12 and 24 GeV/c

The reaction pp → nucleon + nucleon + pion at 12 and 24 GeV/c is analyzed in terms of the isospin amplitudes for the production of the (Nπ) system. The energy dependence of the $\text{I(}\text{N}\text{π) =}\text{1}\text{2}$ amplitude is weak, while the $\text{I(}\text{N}\text{π) =}\text{3}\text{2}$ contribution shows the strong energy dependence known from meson exchange reactions. The slope parameter B of the dσ/dt′ distributions of the $\text{I(}\text{N}\text{π)=}\text{1}\text{2}$ contribution is a strong function of the (Nπ) mass, decreasing sharply from about 12 GeV^?2 at threshold to about 4 GeV^?2 above 1700 MeV. Comparing our results for the $\text{I(}\text{N}\text{π) =}\text{1}\text{2}$ cross section with those of similar investigations in πp and Kp reactions, we find that factorisation is valid within experimental errors. The results support the conclusion that the $\text{I(}\text{N}\text{π) =}\text{1}\text{2}$ contribution is dominated by diffraction dissociation of the proton.     

Different sets of phase shifts for the same differential cross section and polarization in spin-0−spin-12 elastic scattering

It is shown by construction that different sets of phase shifts exist, giving the same cross section and polarization for elastic $\text{spin}\text{-0?}\text{spin}\text{-}\text{1}\text{2}$ scattering. All possible cases for S-P wave scattering are constructed. Measurement of the R- and A-paraameters resolves the ambiguities.     

Flavour and superunification

We consider the possibility of a non-trivial embedding of $\text{(}\text{10}\text{+}\text{5}\text{)}\text{SU}\text{(5)}$ families of spin if$\text{1}\text{2}$ left-handed fermions in a combination of irreducible massless supermultiplets of N extended supersymmetry. We demand the whole spectrum of spin $\text{1}\text{2}$ states to be anomaly free with respect to SU(N). This turns out to be a necessary condition for the absence of anomalies at the SU(5) level. We find two classes of models, with spin $\text{1}\text{2}$ fermions in SU(N) representations associated to one- and two-column Young tableaux, respectively, in which each irreducible massless multiplet occurs at most once. These two classes of models lead to a nontrivial family generation due to supersymmetry. For N = 8 extended supersymmetry, they give at most three and five families, respectively. The first class of models is more natural in the way it excludes SU(5) exotics. The same analysis is extended to the massless multiplets that can be obtained from bilinear composite fields of the (preonic) elementary fields of N extended supergravity. We prove that the generation of families requires the repetition of massless multiplets and that ($\text{10 +}\text{5}$) SU(5) families can only be generated in pairs. General properties of multilinear composite operators of the preonic fields are given and the rôle of massive representations to classify towers of operators with definite spin is pointed out.     

Dynamical supersymmetry breaking in supersymmetric QCD

The massless limit of supersymmetric QCD with $\text{N}{}_{\mathrm{?}}$ flavors and N colors is analyzed in detail. For $\text{N}{}_{\mathrm{?}}\text{< N}$ there is a unique superpotential which might be generated by non-perturbative effects. We show that it indeed appears, thus violating the non-renormalization theorems. For $\text{N}{}_{\mathrm{?}}\text{= N ? 1}$ instantons produce the superpotential. For $\text{N}{}_{\mathrm{?}}\text{< N ? 1}$ it is again generated, provided that a mild assumption about the dynamics of pure supersymmetric gauge theories is correct. For $\text{N}{}_{\mathrm{?}}\text{? N}$ no invariant superpotential exists; the classical vacuum degeneracy is a property of the full quantum theory. When a small quark mass term is added to the theory $\text{(}\text{for}\text{N}{}_{\mathrm{?}}\text{< N), N}$ supersymmetric ground states, identified with those found by Witten exist. As m → 0 these N vacua wander to infinity, leaving the massless theory without a ground state.