The supersymmetric Adler-Bardeen theorem and regularization by dimensional reduction

We examine the subtraction scheme dependence of the anomaly of the supersymmetric, gauge singlet axial current in pure and coupled supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories. Preserving supersymmetry and gauge invariance explicitly by using supersymmetric background field theory and dimensional reduction, we show that only the one-loop value of the axial anomaly is subtraction scheme independent, and that one can always define a subtraction scheme in which the Adler-Bardeen theorem is satisfied to all orders in perturbation theory. In general this subtraction scheme may be non-minimal, but in both the pure and the coupled theories, the Adler-Bardeen theorem is satisfied to two loops in minimal subtraction.