TY - JOUR

T1 - N = 4 supersymmetric mechanics in harmonic superspace

AU - Ivanov, Evgeny

AU - Lechtenfeld, Olaf

N1 - Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2003/9/1

Y1 - 2003/9/1

N2 - We define N = 4, d = 1 harmonic superspace HR1+2|4 with an SU(2)/U(1) harmonic part, SU(2) being one of two factors of the R-symmetry group SU(2) × SU(2) of N = 4, d = 1 Poincaré supersymmetry. We reformulate, in this new setting, the models of N = 4 supersymmetric quantum mechanics associated with the off-shell multiplets (3,4,1) and (4,4,0). The latter admit a natural description as constrained superfields living in an analytic subspace of HR1+2|4. We construct the relevant superfield actions consisting of a sigma-model as well as a superpotential parts and demonstrate that the superpotentials can be written off shell in a manifestly N = 4 supersymmetric form only in the analytic superspace. The constraints implied by N = 4 supersymmetry for the component bosonic target-space metrics, scalar potentials and background one-forms automatically follow from the harmonic superspace description. The analytic superspace is shown to be closed under the most general N = 4, d = 1 superconformai group D(2, 1; α). We give its action on the analytic superflelds comprising the (3, 4, 1) and (4, 4, 0) multiplets, reveal a surprising relation between the latter and present the corresponding superconformally invariant actions. The harmonic superspace approach suggests a natural generalization of these multiplets, with a [2(n+1),4n, 2(n-1)] off-shell content for n > 2.

AB - We define N = 4, d = 1 harmonic superspace HR1+2|4 with an SU(2)/U(1) harmonic part, SU(2) being one of two factors of the R-symmetry group SU(2) × SU(2) of N = 4, d = 1 Poincaré supersymmetry. We reformulate, in this new setting, the models of N = 4 supersymmetric quantum mechanics associated with the off-shell multiplets (3,4,1) and (4,4,0). The latter admit a natural description as constrained superfields living in an analytic subspace of HR1+2|4. We construct the relevant superfield actions consisting of a sigma-model as well as a superpotential parts and demonstrate that the superpotentials can be written off shell in a manifestly N = 4 supersymmetric form only in the analytic superspace. The constraints implied by N = 4 supersymmetry for the component bosonic target-space metrics, scalar potentials and background one-forms automatically follow from the harmonic superspace description. The analytic superspace is shown to be closed under the most general N = 4, d = 1 superconformai group D(2, 1; α). We give its action on the analytic superflelds comprising the (3, 4, 1) and (4, 4, 0) multiplets, reveal a surprising relation between the latter and present the corresponding superconformally invariant actions. The harmonic superspace approach suggests a natural generalization of these multiplets, with a [2(n+1),4n, 2(n-1)] off-shell content for n > 2.

KW - Extended Supersymmetry

KW - Field Theories in Lower Dimensions

KW - Superspaces

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=23144439130&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1088/1126-6708/2003/09/073

DO - 10.1088/1126-6708/2003/09/073

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:23144439130

VL - 7

SP - 1725

EP - 1757

JO - Journal of high energy physics

JF - Journal of high energy physics

SN - 1029-8479

IS - 9

ER -