Conformal invariance in N = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory

It is shown, by consideration of anomaly multiplets, that the maximally extended supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory is conformally invariant, assuming that the theory is supersymmetric and O(4)-invariant and that the structure of anomalies is given by the breakdown of conformal invariance in its coupling to supergravity.     

N = 8 supergravity

The complete structure of N = 8 supergravity is presented with an optional local SO(8) invariance. The SO(8) gauge interactions break E₇ invariance, but leave the local SU(8) unaffected. Exploiting E₇ × SU(8) invariance and using explicit lowest order results, we first derive the complete action and transformation laws. Subsequently, we introduce local SO(8) invariance and prove the consistency of the theory. Possible implications of our results are discussed.     

The anomaly in the Slavnov identity for N = 1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories

We solve the consistency conditions of the BRS symmetry in a general N = 1 sypersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with semi-simple gauge group. As a result we find uniquely the supersymmetric extension of the chiral anomaly. Its coefficient is calculated in one loop and does not, in general, vanish. This corrects our earlier statement on the absence of this anomaly.     

Coupling supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories to supergravity

We extend the technique of Cremmer et al. to couple arbitrary chiral multiplets with supersymmetric Yang-Mills interactions to N = 1 supergravity. We present the general form of the lagrangian and the detailed form of the scalar potential is spelled out. In the case of N chiral multiplets, “minimally” coupled to supergravity, we derive, in the absence of gauge interactions, a model-independent mass formula Supertrace $\text{M}{}^2\text{= Σ}{}_{\mathrm{J}}\text{(?)}{}^{\mathrm{2J}}\text{(2J + 1)m}{}_{\mathrm{J}}{}^2\text{= 2(N ? 1)m}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}{}^2$, where $\text{m}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ is the gravitino mass. A concrete example of the super Higgs effect involving N chiral multiplets is exhibited.     

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.     

N = 2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory and its supercurrent

Using the off-shell two-component formulation of N = 2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory and the gauge covariantized supersymmetry transformations for the fields, the non-abelian supercurrent and anomaly multiplets are developed and the transformation rules for their components are obtained. The superfields in N = 2 superspace whose components are the non-abelian supercurrent and anomaly multiplets are written down.     

Black holes in N=8 supergravity

Solutions of the bosonic field equations of the ungauged, N=8 supergravity which describe black holes with no scalar hairs are obtained. It is found that, in contrast to the Einstein-Maxwell theory where a uniqueness theorem exists, there are two distinct families of black holes in N=8 supergravity. There are also two distinct generalizations of Majumdar-Papapertrou solutions which describe the static equilibrium of many black holes.     

A monopole in N = 8 supergravity

An explicit ansatz for a monopole in N = 8 supergravity is constructed. The monopole mass is estimated by extremizing an energy functional, whose positive definite character is guaranteed by a positive energy theorem.     

N = 4 supergravity coupled to N = 4 matter and hidden symmetries

We present the N = 1 supergravity in 10 dimensions obtained by truncating the reduced N = 1 supergravity from 11 dimensions. This is further reduced to 4 dimensions to give SU(4) supergravity coupled to six SO(4) vector multiplets. As the reduction is from 10 dimensions, the theory is expected to have the symmetry SL(6R)_global×SO(6)_local, but we give a theoretical argument that this can be extended to SO(6,6)×SU(1,1)_global and SO(6)×SO(6)×U(1)_local.     

Magnetovacs in gauged N = 4 supergravity

A two-parameter family of supersymmetric background field solutions of the recently formulated version of gauged N = 4 supergravity is found. This constitutes strong evidence that the theory has stable vacua, despite energy densities that are unbounded below. The background geometries are metric products of (AdS)₂ × S₂, and there are covariantly constant magnetic and electric fields. For a special choice of parameters the (AdS)₂ factor becomes a flat Minkowski space and electric fields vanish.     

Dynamical supersymmetry breaking in two-dimensional N = 1 supergravity theories

We investigate a possible dynamical mechanism for spontaneous supersymmetrybreaking in N = 1 supergravity theories in 1 + 1 space-time dimensions. It will be shown that supersymmetry is never broken at the tree level, but it can be broken for a certain class of models by quantum effects due to trace anomalies of the energy-momentum tensor and the supercurrent.     

Monopole and dyon bound states in N = 2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories

We study the existence of monopole bound states saturating the BPS bound in N = 2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories. We describe how the existence of such bound states relates to the topology of index bundles over the moduli space of BPS solutions. Using an L² index theorem, we prove the existence of certain BPS states predicted by Seiberg and Witten based on their study of the vacuum structure of N = 2 Yang-Mills theories.     

Noncompact N=2 supergravity

A massive spin-one multiplet with central charge is coupled to N=2 supergravity. Compared to conventional gauge fields the anomalous magnetic moment of the spin-one particles is of the opposite sign. The construction of this theory is based on an N=2 supersymmetric gauge theory associated with the noncompact group SO(2,1). As a byproduct we present a convenient expression for the N=2 Einstein-Yang-Mills lagrangian.     

Dynamical calculation of bound-state supermultiplets in N = 8 supergravity

We have studied the existence of bound states in N = 8 supergravity using S-matrix methods. We find evidence for several supermultiplets.     

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.     

N = 2 supergravity action in terms of N = 1 superfields

We construct the full N = 2 supergravity action in terms of N = 1 supergravity and matter fields.     

Linearized N = 2 superfield supergravity

We present the formulation of linearized SU(2) supergravity and U(2) conformal supergravity in terms of unconstrained N = 2 superfields: the gauge superfield, compensating superfields, gauge transformations, supertensors, actions and covariant derivatives.     

Mass scale of grand unification in N = 8 extended supergravity

The mass scale for the running coupling of the conjectured SU(5) grand unified theory embedded in N = 8 extended supergravity is shown to (almost) coincide with the Planck mass. Furthermore, the masses of the superheavy particles in the theory are expected to be order O(m_X) rather than O(m_Planck).     

N = 4 Yang-Mills theory on the light cone

The 10-dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory is constructed in the light-cone gauge. When the theory is dimensionally reduced to four dimensions it is shown that the corresponding N = 4 theory is conveniently described in terms of a scalar superfield. This formalism avoids the problem of auxiliary fields but is Lorentz invariant only on the mass shell. Similar formalisms in terms of scalar superfields are also sketched for the other supersymmetric Yang-Mills as well as for N = 8 supergravity.     

Operators with Large R-Charge in N=4 Yang-Mills Theory

It has been recently proposed that string theory in the background of a plane wave corresponds to a certain subsector of the N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. This correspondence follows as a limit of the AdS/CFT duality. As a particular case of the AdS/CFT correspondence, it is a priori a strong-weak coupling duality. However, the predictions for the anomalous dimensions which follow from this particular limit are analytic functions of the 't Hooft coupling constant λ and have a well-defined expansion in the weak coupling regime. This allows one to conjecture that the correspondence between the strings on the plane wave background and the Yang-Mills theory works at the level of perturbative expansions. In our paper we perform perturbative computations in the Yang-Mills theory that confirm this conjecture. We calculate the anomalous dimension of the operator corresponding to the elementary string excitation. We verify at the two-loop level that the anomalous dimension has a finite limit when the R-charge J→∞ keeps λ/J² finite. We conjecture that this is true at higher orders of perturbation theory. We show, by summing an infinite subset of Feynman diagrams, under the above assumption, that the anomalous dimensions arising from the Yang-Mills perturbation theory are in agreement with the anomalous dimensions following from the string worldsheet sigma-model.