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 breaking of supersymmetry through dimensional reduction

A general technique for deriving consistent theories with spontaneously broken supersymmetry and massive gravitinos is illustrated by exploiting the chiral invariance of N = 1 supergravity in four dimensions to construct a theory with broken N = 2 supersymmetry in three dimensions.     

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.     

Use of compensators to break supersymmetry in an N = 1 supergravity theory

We consider an N = 1 supergravity theory with multiple compensators and show that supersymmetry is broken by a solution to the equation of motion of a compensator. When a chiral scalar superfield is coupled to supergravity, we discuss various aspects of supersymmetry breaking and show that the super-Higgs-Kibble effect is operative. Possible applications of this mechanism of supersymmetry breaking in model building and extended supergravity theories are indicated.     

Spontaneous supersymmetry breaking in large-N matrix models with slowly varying potential

We construct a class of matrix models, where supersymmetry (SUSY) is spontaneously broken at the matrix size N infinite. The models are obtained by dimensional reduction of matrix-valued SUSY quantum mechanics. The potential of the models is slowly varying, and the large-N limit is taken with the slowly varying limit.     

Grand unification with local supersymmetry

We study general conditions for obtaining spontaneous breaking of local supersymmetry in N = 1 supergravity coupled to supersymmetric matter. We consider in particular the coupling of N = 1 supergravity to grand unified theories like SU(5) and study the conditions which must be met in order to obtain a realistic model. Specific models are built in which local supersymmetry is broken at a scale √M_Wm_p ～ 10¹⁰ GeV. This breaking of supersymmetry is only detected at low energies through soft terms breaking explicitly the global supersymmetry. These soft terms (scalar masses, gaugino masses and trilinear scalar couplings) are renormalized at low energies according to the renormalization group. The (mass)² of the Higgs doublet evolve towards negative values at low energies giving rise to SU(2) × U(1) breaking as a radiative effect of local supersymmetry breaking. We finally point out the possible relevance of non-renormalizable superpotentials for the problem of fermion masses.     

A realistic supersymmetric GUT model coupled toN=1 supergravity

A systematic method to look for minima inSU(N) SUSY GUT models is developed. A supersymmetric GUT model coupled toN=1 supergravity is proposed. The degeneracy of different vacua is removed and supersymmetry is spontaneously broken.     

Hidden supersymmetry in quantum bosonic systems

We show that some simple well-studied quantum mechanical systems without fermion (spin) degrees of freedom display, surprisingly, a hidden supersymmetry. The list includes the bound state Aharonov-Bohm, the Dirac delta and the Pöschl-Teller potential problems, in which the unbroken and broken N = 2 supersymmetry of linear and nonlinear (polynomial) forms is revealed.     

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.     

Effective potential in N = 1, D = 4 supergravity coupled to the volkov-akulov field

The one-loop effective potential is calculated for the N = 1, D = 4 supergravity theory coupled to the Volkov-Akulov field. It is then shown that after an adjustment of some of the parameters, local supersymmetry is broken and as a consequence the gravitino acquires mass through a dynamical effect.     

Spontaneous supersymmetry breaking in 1N leading order

We present a supersymmetric model, with only chiral superfields, invariant under an internal O(N) global symmetry. We show that, to leading order in $\text{1}\text{N}$, an auxiliary scalar field acquires a non-vanishing vacuum expectation value, that is, supersymmetry is spontaneously broken to this order of the approximation.     

Broken supersymmetry and the divergence of the perturbation series in QED

The n-bubble diagram contributions to the electron anomalous magnetic moment are studied. In supersymmetric QED, the photon- and photino-exchange contributions exactly cancel. When supersymmetry is broken, n! growth is restored and Borel summability is apparently lost. The potential first renormalon singularity is absent but the second is present in both the non-supersymmetric and broken supersymmetry cases. Other possibilities for Borel summability are discussed.     

N = 3 and N = 1 supersymmetry in a new class of solutions for d = 11 supergravity

We present a new class of compactifying solutions for d = 11 supergravity. The internal 7-spaces are described by coset manifolds N^pqr of the form SU(3) × U(1)/U(1) × U(1). The three integers p, q, r characterize the embedding of the stability subgroup U(1) × U(1) in SU(3) × U(1).Their supersymmetry content is quite remarkable. For a particular choice of p, q, r the isometry of N^pqr is SU(3) × SU(2): in this case we find that N = 3 supersymmetry survives. For all the other values of p, q, r, supersymmetry is broken to N = 1, and the isometry group is SU(3) × U(1).We also find a class of solutions with internal photon curl F_αβγδ ≠ 0, breaking all supersymmetries.     

Stability of mass hierarchy in models with a sliding singlet

In the broad class of models with a heavy sliding singlet and softly broken supersymmetry (e.g. by the effects of N = 1 supergravity) it is shown that the doublet-triplet hierarchy obtained at the tree level is not destroyed by quantum correction at any loop order. As an example the simplest SU(5) model with a stable doublet-triplet hierarchy is proposed. The necessary and sufficient conditions of the hierarchy stability are discussed.     

Towards Higher-N Superextensions of Born–Infeld Theory

We give a brief account of supersymmetric Born–Infeld theories with extended supersymmetry, including those with partially broken supersymmetry. Some latest developments in this area are presented. One of them is N = 3 supersymmetric Born–Infeld theory which admits a natural off-shell formulation in N = 3 harmonic superspace.     

Gauged N = 4 supergravities in five dimensions and their magnetovac backgrounds

Gauged N = 4 supergravity theories with Yang-Mills symmetry SU(2) × U(1) are constructed in five dimensions. As in four dimensions, the presence of a nonsimple gauge group leads to the existence of three distinct theories, depending (in five dimensions) on the values of the SU(2) and U(1) coupling constants. Two of the theories are distinguished by the relative sign of the coupling constants; one of these has a vacuum state exhibiting the full N = 4 anti-de Sitter supersymmetry SU(2,2|2), while the other has a scalar potential with no critical points. The third theory, in which the SU(2) coupling constant is taken to be zero, has vanishing scalar potential. This leads to vacua with spontaneously broken supersymmetry and zero cosmological constant, admitting compactification to four dimensions. All three theories possess “magnetovac” ground states with residual supersymmetry and hence presumably stable. Several of these may be interpreted as four-dimensional cosmological models.     

Effective potential for chiral scalar superfields

This paper contains two results. The first is that for a theory of N chiral scalar superfields, for which the supersymmetry is not spontaneously broken, the effective potential vanishes at the same points as the tree potential. This is also verified in the one- and two- loop approximation. It is concluded that the absolute minima of the tree potential are also absolute minima of the effective potential, and hence that any degeneracy in the tree potential will persist to all orders in the radiative corrections. The second result is that, in the case of one chiral superfield, the one-loop contribution to the effective potential not only vanishes at the zeros of the tree potential, but is non-negative at all other points. This results is taken as an indication that the supersymmetry itself is not spontaneously broken by the radiative corrections.     

A natural solution to the μ-problem in supergravity theories

We propose a “natural” way to avoid the introduction by hand of a small mass scale μ in the observable sector of N = 1 supergravity theories. In our approach, μ automatically arises from the general couplings of broken supergravity. In this way, all low energy mass parameters arise only from supergravity breaking and, in particular, SU (2) × U (1) is left unbroken in the limit of exact supersymmetry. Our solution of the μ-problem presents interesting connections with the strong CP puzzle through the implementation of symmetriesàla Peccei and Quinn.     

Supersymmetry and positive temperature for simple systems

It has recently been argued by Girardello et al. that supersymmetry is automatically broken at positive temperature even when unbroken at T = 0, in the sense that the usual derivation of identities from unbroken supersymmetry does not automatically generalize to T > 0. Using as a guide simple examples with one bosonic and one fermionic degree of freedom, we study how supersymmetry reflects itself in the properties of excited states, in particular in the thermal properties at positive temperature. We derive a class of relations [see eq. 1.2)] which extend to all T the familiar consequences of unbroken supersymmetry for ground-state expectation values; these relations hold for unbroken and spontaneously broken supersymmetry. With Levine and Tomozawa we consider the algebra generated by the supercharges. In the case of two supercharges it can be reduced to the Clifford algebra of Pauli spin matrices, for which the eigenstates form irreducible doublets, except that a zero-energy eigenstate may be a singlet. The relations mentioned above are shown to hold for each doublet individually [see eq. (4,7)]. Some additional remarks are made on supersymmetry breaking at zero and positive temperatures.