Local supersymmetry anomaly in two dimensions

We study the local supersymmetry anomaly by constructing an N = 1 (counted by Majorana-Weyl spinors) chiral supergravity model in two dimensions. There is the local supersymmetry anomaly as well as the gravitational anomaly. We obtain the linearized forms of these anomalies by perturbation calculation. The full non-linear forms are obtained by finding a solution to the Wess-Zumino consistency condition. These anomalies can be derived from the supersymmetric extension of the Chern-Simons invariant in three dimensions.     

Phenomenology and conformal field theory or can string theory predict the weak mixing angle?

We show that the weak mixing angle θ_w is the same for continuously connected classical vacua of the heterotic string which have chiral fermions in their massless spectra. We also show that the world-sheet quantum field theory for any classical vacuum with spacetime supersymmetry possesses an N = 2 superconformal invariance.     

From N = 1 to N = 4 extended supersymmetric Yang-Mills fields in a covariant Wess-Zumino gauge

It is assumed that N = 1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills fields coupled to chiral matter fields can be renormalized in a covariant Wess-Zumino gauge with a minimal number of subtractions so that the Ward identities of supersymmetry, ordinary gauge invariance and matter-field-flavour symmetries are satisfied. The chiral Yukawa couplings are supposed to remain unrenormalized. I show that on the basis of these assumptions an N = 4 extended manifestly O(4) invariant theory can be constructed with finite Yukawa and φ⁴ couplings. A consequence of these non-renormalizations is the vanishing of the renormalization group β function.     

Lattice supersymmetry and the nicolai mapping

We propose the use of the Nicolai mapping as a guiding principle for formulating supersymmetric theories on a discrete space-time lattice, on which the supersymmetry algebra is not well-defined. We present a discretized form of the N = 2 Wess-Zumino model in 1+1 dimensions. This model is also examined in the hamiltonian (continuous time) formalism on a spatial lattice, and is found to allow consistent discretization only for those subalgebras which admit an internal O(2) symmetry.     

Out of equilibrium dynamics of supersymmetry at high energy density

We investigate the out of equilibrium dynamics of global chiral supersymmetry at finite energy density. We concentrate on two specific models. The first is the massive Wess–Zumino model which we study in a self-consistent one-loop approximation. We find that for energy densities above a certain threshold, the fields are driven dynamically to a point in field space at which the fermionic component of the superfield is massless. The state, however, is found to be unstable, indicating a breakdown of the one-loop approximation. To investigate further, we consider an O(N) massive chiral model which is solved exactly in the large N limit. For sufficiently high energy densities, we find that for late times the fields reach a nonperturbative minimum of the effective potential degenerate with the perturbative minimum. This minimum is a true attractor for O(N) invariant states at high energy densities, and this provides a mechanism for determining which of the otherwise degenerate vacua is chosen by the dynamics. The final state for large energy density is a cloud of massless particles (both bosons and fermions) around this new nonperturbative supersymmetric minimum. By introducing boson masses which softly break the supersymmetry, we demonstrate a see-saw mechanism for generating small fermion masses. We discuss some of the cosmological implications of our results.     

The Wess-Zumino term in lattice theories

The chiral property of the Wilson lattice fermion is investigated. A chiral-invariant four-Fermi model, in which chiral symmetry is dynamically broken, is considered in 2 and 4 dimensions. The Wess-Zumino term is calculated in the 1/N_c expansion. In 2 dimensions, the Wess-Zumino term appears from the Wilson term in the desired form. However, in 4 dimensions the mass-independent one does not appear. The physical reason for this result is discussed.     

Cosmic string configuration in the supersymmetric CSKR theory

We study a cosmic string solution of an (N=1)-supersymmetric version of the Cremmer–Scherk–Kalb–Ramond (CSKR) model coupled to scalars and fermions. The 2-form gauge potential is proposed to couple non-minimally to matter, here described by a chiral scalar superfield. The important outcome is that supersymmetry is kept exact in the core and it may also hold in the exterior region of the string. We contemplate the configurations of the bosonic sector and we check that the solutions saturate the Bogomol'nyi bound. A glimpse on the fermionic zero modes is also given.     

N = 4 Yang-Mills theory in terms of N = 3 and N = 2 light-cone superfields

The N = 4 Yang-Mills theory is truncated to an N = 3 Yang-Mills theory and to an N = 2 Yang-Mills theory coupled to an N = 2 Wess-Zumino field. The whole procedure is performed in the light-cone gauge. It is then shown that these theories are unique even if we only insist on N = 3 or N = 2 supersymmetry respectively. Finally we show in detail how the introduction of the fermionic Wess-Zumino field renders the one-loop self-energy finite.     

Cecotti-Fendley-Intriligator-Vafa index in a box

The Cecotti-Fendley-Intriligator-Vafa (CFIV) index in two-dimensional N=(2,2) models is revisited. We address the problem of “elementary” (nontopological) excitations over a kink solution, in the one-kink sector (using the Wess-Zumino or Landau-Ginzburg models with two vacua as examples). In other words, we limit ourselves to the large-β limit. The excitation spectrum over the BPS-saturated at the classical level kink is discretized through a large box with judiciously chosen boundary conditions. The boundary conditions are designed in such a way that half of supersymmetry is preserved as well as the BPS kink itself, and relevant zero modes. The excitation spectrum acquires a mass gap. All (discretized) excited states enter in four-dimensional multiplets (two bosonic states + two fermionic). Their contribution to indCFIV vanishes level-by-level. The ground state contribution produces |indCFIV|=1.     

Spontaneous supersymmetry breaking by large-N matrices

Motivated by supersymmetry breaking in matrix model formulations of superstrings, we present some concrete models, in which the supersymmetry is preserved for any finite N, but gets broken at infinite N, where N is the rank of matrix variables. The models are defined as supersymmetric field theories coupled to some matrix models, and in the induced action obtained after integrating out the matrices, supersymmetry is spontaneously broken only when N is infinity. In our models, the large value of N gives a natural explanation for the origin of small parameters appearing in the field theories which trigger the supersymmetry breaking.     

Spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking for a U(N) gauge theory on a lattice

We study the breakdown of chiral invariance by calculating, in the infinite coupling, large-N limit, the generating functional of a U(N) gauge theory with one fermion, expressed on a lattice with the naive, chiral symmetric action. We compute the link integral over the gauge fields and the expression obtained after the integration over the fermions is recast under the form of a generating functional for bosonic fields. Then, a saddle-point method allows the calculation of the order parameter $\text{〈}\text{ψ}\text{ψ〉}$ for which a non-zero value signals the spontaneous breakdown of chiral symmetry. The analysis of the fluctuations around the saddle point allows one to exhibit the Goldstone modes corresponding to those global symmetries of the fermionic lattice action which are simultaneously broken.     

Auxiliary field-free supersymmetric gauges

We find that, in perturbation theory, non-light-cone axial gauges, N ° A^a (x) = 0, preserve the supersymmetry remaining in N = 1 supersymmetric YM theories, after imposing the Wess-Zumino gauge.     

Nonlinear supersymmetry without the GSO projection and unstable D9-brane

Orientable open string theories containing both bosons and fermions without the GSO projection are expected to have the 10-dimensional N=2 space–time supersymmetry in a spontaneously broken phase. We study the low-energy theorem for the nonlinearly realized N=2 supersymmetry using the effective action for an unstable D9-brane. It is explicitly confirmed that the 4-fermion open string amplitudes without the GSO projection obey the low-energy theorem derived from the nonlinear N=2 supersymmetry. An intimate connection between the existence of the hidden supersymmetry and the open–open string (s–t) duality is pointed out.     

Supersymmetric renormalization group flows

The functional renormalization group equation for the quantum effective action is a powerful tool to investigate non-perturbative phenomena in quantum field theories. We discuss the application of manifest supersymmetric flow equations to the N = 1 Wess-Zumino model in two and three dimensions and the linear O(N) sigma model in three dimensions in the large-N limit. The former is a toy model for dynamical supersymmetry breaking, the latter for an exactly solvable field theory.     

Superconformal anomalies and the effective lagrangian for pure supersymmetric QCD

We discuss the extent to which the superconformal anomalies constrain the effective lagrangian for pure N = 1 Yang-Mills theory. Assuming that the order parameter describing the model is a single chiral superfield (and allowing its derivatives) we find a larger class of possible models than had been previously noted. We give a detailed analysis of a particularly interesting example and find that it leads to the possibility of spontaneous breakdown of supersymmetry. Thus we conclude that the anomaly constraints by themselves are not sufficient to protect supersymmetry. Some unusual features which seem characteristic of such higher derivative theories are noted. A number of related topics, including the question of gluon condensation, are discussed.     

4d fermionic superstrings with arbitrary twists

We present the rules for systematically constructing all consistent four-dimensional string theories, using free world-sheet fermions which pick up arbitrary phases when parallel transported around the string. These rules are necessary and sufficient for multi-loop modular invariance. They lead to theories with general Z_N (GSO-type) projections, whose merits for model-building we discuss. We classify all boundary conditions yielding massless space-time spinors. We show that, in contrast to the case of only real 2d fermions, all possible realizations of world-sheet supersymmetry are now allowed. This opens the way for the construction of a new class of supersymmetric string models.     

Superprojectors

We present a simple algorithm for constructing the N-extended superfield projection operators for irreducible representations of supersymmetry, and explicitly perform all simplifications due to spinor derivative algebra. The method is based on covariant expansion of a general superfield in terms of chiral superfields, and requires no knowledge of Casimir operators. We list these superprojectors for various N = 1, 2, and 4 superfields, and apply our results to quantized the linearized N = 2 vector multiplet in a supersymmetric gauge.     

Effective lagrangian and dynamical symmetry breaking in strongly coupled lattice QCD

A method is proposed for computing effective lagrangians in QCD with N colors using lattice regularization. The meson field lagrangian is worked out in detail in the strong coupling limit with various lattice fermion formulations. For generalized Susskind fermions the spontaneous breakdown U(n) ? U(n) → U(n) (diagonal) is found at large N and a generalized version of the non-linear σ model emerges in a natural way. The Nambu-Goldstone spectrum is investigated and a continuous transition is made to Wilson fermions, for which the effective potential and the ππ scattering amplitude are tested on chiral symmetry. Large d (=dimension) approximations are compared with the large N limit and applied to N = 3.     

Topological susceptibility in lattice QCD with unimproved Wilson fermions

We address a long standing problem regarding topology in lattice simulations of QCD with unimproved Wilson fermions. Earlier attempt with unimproved Wilson fermions at β=5.6 to verify the suppression of topological susceptibility with decreasing quark mass (mq) was unable to unambiguously confirm the suppression. We carry out systematic calculations for two degenerate flavours at two different lattice spacings (β=5.6 and 5.8). The effects of quark mass, lattice volume and the lattice spacing on the spanning of different topological sectors are presented. We unambiguously demonstrate the suppression of the topological susceptibility with decreasing quark mass, expected from chiral Ward identity and chiral perturbation theory.