We revisit the issue of higher-dimensional counterterms for the N=(1,1) supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM) theory in six dimensions using the off-shell N=(1,0) and on-shell N=(1,1) harmonic superspace approaches. The second approach is developed in full generality and used to solve, for the first time, the N=(1,1) SYM constraints in terms of N=(1,0) superfields. This provides a convenient tool to write explicit expressions for the candidate counterterms and other N=(1,1) invariants and may be conducive to proving non-renormalization theorems needed to explain the absence of certain logarithmic divergences in higher-loop contributions to scattering amplitudes in N=(1,1) SYM.
We study quantum aspects of field theories defined on N=1/2 superspace, where both bosonic and fermionic coordinates are made non(anti)commutative. We compute the one-loop effective superpotential, and we find that planar and nonplanar contributions exhibit markedly different behavior. Planar diagrams yield an effective superpotential proportional to N_c Φ\log Φ. For nonplanar diagrams, we show that ultraviolet-infrared mixing takes place and explain why some nonplanar diagrams are ultraviolet-divergent when bosonic noncommutativity is turned off. Each nonplanar diagram is not expressible as a…
Action of 4 dimensional N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory is written by employing the superfields in N=4 superspace which were used to prove the equivalence of its constraint equations and equations of motion. Integral forms of the extended superspace are engaged to collect all of the superfields in one "master" superfield. The proposed N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills action in extended superspace is shown to acquire a simple form in terms of the master superfield.
In a superspace formulation of Yang-Mills theory previously proposed, we show how gauge-invariant operators and scalars can be incorporated keeping intact the (broken) $Osp(3,1|2)$ symmetry of the superspace action. We show in both cases, that the WT identities can be cast in a simple form $\frac{\partial\bar{W}}{\partialθ}=0$.
It has been known for quite some time that the N=4 super Yang-Mills equations defined on four-dimensional Euclidean space are equivalent to certain constraint equations on the Euclidean superspace R^(4|16). In this paper we consider the constraint equations on a deformed superspace R^(4|16)_\hbar a la Seiberg and derive the deformed super Yang-Mills equations. In showing this, we propose a super Seiberg-Witten map.
The supersymmetric descent equations in superspace are discussed by means of the introduction of two operators which allow to decompose the supersymmetric covariant derivatives as BRS commutators.
In $D=4$, $\cal{N}=1$ conformal superspace, the Yang-Mills matter coupled supergravity system is constructed where the Yang-Mills gauge interaction is introduced by extending the superconformal group to include the Kähler isometry group of chiral matter fields. There are two gauge-fixing procedures to get to the component Poincaré supergravity: one via the superconformal component formalism and the other via the Poincaré superspace formalism. These two types of superconformal gauge-fixing conditions are analyzed in detail and their correspondence is clarified.
A superspace formulation using superconnections and supercurvatures is specifically constructed for N=4 extended super Yang-Mills theory with a central charge in four dimensions, first proposed by Sohnius, Stelle and West long ago. We find that the constraints, almost uniquely derived from the possible spin structure of the multiplet, can be algebraically solved which results in an off-shell supersymmetric formulation of the theory on the superspace.
Witten's observables of topological Yang-Mills theory, defined as classes of an equivariant cohomology, are reobtained as the BRST cohomology classes of a superspace version of the theory.
We find a formulation of $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in Projective superspace. In particular we find an expression for the field strength in terms of an unconstrained prepotential which is desirable when quantizing the theory. We use this to write the action in terms of the prepotential and show that it reduces to the known result in the abelian limit.
The kinetic action of the N=2 Yang-Mills vector multiplet can be written in projective N=2 superspace using projective multiplets. It is possible to perform a simple N=2 gauge fixing, which translated to N=1 component language makes the kinetic terms of gauge potentials invertible. After coupling the Yang-Mills multiplet to unconstrained sources it is very simple to integrate out the gauge fixed vector multiplet from the path integral of the free theory and obtain the N=2 propagator. Its reduction to N=1 components agrees with the propagators of the gauge fixed N=1 component superfields. The c…
D=4, N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory has an off-shell superspace formulation in terms of pure spinor superfields, which is directly inherited from the D=10 theory. That superspace, in particular the choice of pure spinor variables, is less suitable for dealing with fields that are inherently 4-dimensional, such as the superfields based on the scalars, which are gauge-covariant, and traces of powers of scalars, which are gauge-invariant. We give a reformulation of D=4, N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory in N=4 superspace, using inherently 4-dimensional pure spinors. All local degrees of freedom reside in …
We formulate maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in five dimensions in light-cone superspace. The light-cone Hamiltonian is of the quadratic form and the theory can be understood as an oxidation of the N=4 Super Yang-Mills Theory in four dimensions. We specifically study three-point counterterms and show how these counterterms vanish on-shell. This study is a preliminary to set up the technique in order to study possible four-point counterterms.
We revisit the construction of topological Yang-Mills theories of the Witten type with arbitrary space-time dimension and number of ``shift supersymmetry'' generators, using a superspace formalism. The super-BF structure of these theories is exploited in orderto determine their actions uniquely, up to the ambiguities due to the fixing of the Yang-Mills and BF gauge invariance. UV finiteness to all orders of perturbation theory is proved in a gauge of the Landau type.
We give a new description of N=1 super Yang-Mills theory in curved superspace. It is based on the induced geometry approach to a curved superspace in which it is viewed as a surface embedded into C(4|2). The complex structure on C(4|2) supplied with a standard volume element induces a special Cauchy-Riemann (SCR)-structure on the embedded surface. We give an explicit construction of SYM theory in terms of intrinsic geometry of the superspace defined by this SCR-structure and a CR-bundle over the superspace. We write a manifestly SCR-covariant Lagrangian for SYM coupled with matter. We also sho…
We formulate a superspace field theory which is shown to be equivalent to the $c-\bar{c}$ symmetric BRS/Anti-BRS invariant Yang-Mills action. The theory uses a 6-dimensional superspace and one OSp(3,1|2) vector multiplet of unconstrained superfields. We establish a superspace WT identity and show that the formulation has an asymptotic OSp(3,1|2) invariance as the gauge parameter goes to infinity. We give a physical interpretation of this asymptotic OSp(3,1|2) invariance as a symmetry transformation among the longitudinal/time like degrees of freedom of $A_μ$ and the ghost degrees of freedom.
Using the N = 2 off-shell formulation in harmonic superspace for N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory, we present a representation of the one-loop effective action which is free of so-called coinciding harmonic singularities and admits a straightforward evaluation of low-energy quantum corrections in the framework of an N = 2 superfield heat kernel technique. We illustrate our approach by computing the low-energy effective action on the Coulomb branch of SU(2) N = 4 super Yang-Mills. Our work provides the first derivation of the low-energy action of N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory directly in N = 2 sup…
Following a previous work on Abelian (2,0)-gauge theories, one reassesses here the task of coupling (2,0) relaxed Yang-Mills superpotentials to a (2,0)- nonlinear $σ$-model, by gauging the isotropy or the isometry group of the latter. One pays special attention to the extra ``chiral-like'' component-field gauge potential that comes out from the relaxation of superspace constraints.
A Batalin-Vilkovisky action for D=6, N=1 super-Yang--Mills theory, including coupling to hypermultiplets, is given. The formalism involves pure spinor superfields. The geometric properties of the D=6, N=1 pure spinors (which differ from Cartan pure spinors) are examined. Unlike the situation for maximally supersymmetric models, the fields and antifields (including ghosts) of the vector multiplet reside in separate superfields. The formalism provides an off-shell superspace formulation for matter hypermultiplets, which in a traditional treatment are on-shell.
The coupling of matter to supergravity with $N=1$ supersymmetry in $d=4$ dimensions is described in a geometric manner by Kähler superspace. A straightforward way to implement Kähler superspace is via $\mathrm{U}(1)$ superspace by identifying the $\mathrm{U}(1)$ pre-potential with the Kähler potential, which is a function of the matter (chiral) superfields. In this framework, the components of the supergravity multiplet are contained in the supervielbein and torsion tensor of superspace. Furthermore, interactions with the Yang-Mills (vector) multiplet are formulated by introducing a connection…
We develop N=4 d=4 bi-harmonic superspace and use it to derive a novel form for the low-energy effective action in N=4 super Yang-Mills theory. We solve the N=4 supergauge constraints in this superspace in terms of analytic superfields. Using these superfields, we construct a simple functional that respects N=4 supersymmetry and scale invariance. In components, it reproduces all on-shell terms in the four-derivative part of the N=4 SYM effective action; in particular, the F^4/X^4 and Wess-Zumino terms. The latter comes out in a novel SO(3) x SO(3)-invariant form.
We use a Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) superspace approach to formulate off-shell nilpotent BRST and anti-BRST transformations in four dimensional N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. The method is based on the possibility of introducing auxiliary fields through the supersymmetric transformations of the superpartener of the gauge potential associated to a supersymmetric Yang-Mills connection. These fields are required to achieve the off-shell nilpotency of the BRST and anti-BRST operators. We also show how this off-shell structure is used to build the BRST and anti-BRST invariant gauge-fix…
The massless superfield content of four-dimensional compactifications of closed superstrings with extended (N=2, 3, or 4) supersymmetry is derived by multiplying two (N=0, 1, or 2) Yang-Mills multiplets. In some cases these superfields are known, and the low-energy actions are determined from the fact that the compensator (dilaton) supermultiplets occur quadratically classically. In the other cases these superfields suggest new formulations of extended superspace theories.
We analyze the superfield constraints of the D=4, N=3 SYM-theory using light-cone gauge conditions. The SU(3)/U(1)xU(1) harmonic variables are interpreted as auxiliary spectral parameters, and the transform to the harmonic-superspace representation is considered. Our nilpotent gauge for the basic harmonic superfield simplifies the SYM-equations of motion. A partial Grassmann decomposition of these equations yields the solvable linear system of iterative equations.
We analyze the superfield equations of the 4-dimensional N=4 SYM-theory using light-cone gauge conditions and the harmonic-superspace approach. The harmonic superfield equations of motion are drastically simplified in this gauge, in particular, the basic harmonic-superfield matrices and the corresponding harmonic analytic gauge connections become nilpotent on-shell.
In this paper, we will analyse three dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory coupled to matter fields in $SIM(1)$ superspace formalism. The original theory which is invariant under the full Lorentz group has $\mathcal{N} =1$ supersymmetry. However, when we break the Lorentz symmetry down to $SIM(1)$ group, the $SIM(1)$ superspace will break half the supersymmetry of the original theory. Thus, the resultant theory in $SIM(1)$ superspace will have $\mathcal{N} =1/2$ supersymmetry. This is the first time that $\mathcal{N} =1 $ supersymmetry will be broken down to $\mathcal{N} =1/2$ supersymm…
A few years ago, we found the supersymmetric(SUSY) counterpart of the spectral triple which specified noncommutative geometry(NCG). Based on "the triple", we considered the SUSY version of the spectral action principle and had derived the action of super Yang--Mills theory, minimal supersymmetric standard model, and supergravity. In these theories, we used vector notation in order to express a chiral or an anti-chiral matter superfield. We also represented the NCG algebra and the Dirac operator by matrices which operated on the space of matter field. In this paper, we represent the triple in t…
We give a twisted holomorphic superspace description for the super-Yang-Mills theory, using holomorphic and antiholomorphic decompositions of twisted spinors. We consider the case of the N=1 super-Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions. We solve the constraints in two different manners, without and with a prepotential. This might have further application for an holomorphic superspace description of N=1,d=10 theory. We also explain how the N=1 and N=2 holomorphic superspaces are related.
We analyze the superfield constraints of the D=4, N=3 SYM-theory using light-cone gauge conditions. The SU(3)/U(1) x U(1) harmonic variables are interpreted as auxiliary spectral parameters, and the transform to the harmonic-superspace representation is considered. The harmonic superfield equations of motion are drastically simplified in our gauge, in particular, the basic matrix of the harmonic transform and the corresponding harmonic analytic gauge connections become nilpotent on-shell. It is shown that these harmonic SYM-equations are equivalent to the finite set of solvable linear iterativ…
We study counterterms (CT's), candidates for UV divergences in the four-dimensional N=8 supergravity. They have been constructed long ago in a Lorentz covariant on shell superspace and recently in the chiral light-cone (LC) superspace. We prove that all of these CT's are ruled out since they are not available in the real LC superspace. This implies the perturbative UV finiteness of d=4 N=8 supergravity under the assumption that supersymmetry and continuous E7 symmetry are anomaly-free. The proof, based on the chiral nature of CT's in the LC superspace, is a generalization of the perturbative F…
Supersymmetric integrands for the two-loop five-point amplitudes in ten-dimensional super Yang--Mills and type II supergravity are proposed. The kinematic numerators are manifestly local and satisfy the duality between color and kinematics described by Bern, Carrasco and Johansson. Our results are expected to reproduce the integrated two-loop amplitudes in dimensions $D<7$. The UV divergence in the critical dimension $D=7$ matches the low-energy limit of the corresponding superstring amplitudes and is written in terms of SYM tree amplitudes.
We propose a twisted D=N=2 superspace formalism. The relation between the twisted super charges including the BRST charge, vector and pseudo scalar super charges and the N=2 spinor super charges is established. We claim that this relation is essentially related with the Dirac-Kähler fermion mechanism. We show that a fermionic bilinear form of twisted N=2 chiral and anti-chiral superfields is equivalent to the quantized version of BF theory with the Landau type gauge fixing while a bosonic bilinear form leads to the N=2 Wess-Zumino action. We then construct a Yang-Mills action described by the …
We study four dimensional supersymmetric gauge theory on the noncommutative superspace, recently proposed by Seiberg. We construct the gauge-invariant action of N=1 super Yang-Mills theory with chiral and antichiral superfields, which has N=1/2 supersymmetry on the noncommutative superspace. We also construct the action of N=2 super Yang-Mills theory. It is shown that this theory has only N=1/2 supersymmetry.
In this paper the SIM(2) superspace formulation of the supersymmetric Yang-Mills gauge theory minimally coupled to chiral superfields is discussed. The super-Poincare invariant supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory is rewritten to SIM(2) superspace formalism and the effects of SIM(2) invariant but Lorentz breaking terms are discussed. Two approaches are investigated. The first is based on the gauge chiral representation of the supersymmetric gauge theory and the second is based on the covariant representation of the supersymmetric gauge theory.
6D maximal super Yang-Mills on-shell amplitudes are formulated in superspace using 6 dimensional twistors. The 3,4,5-point tree amplitudes are obtained by supersymmetrizing their bosonic counterparts and confirmed through the BCFW construction. In contrast to 4D this superspace is non-chiral, reflecting the fact that one cannot differentiate MHV from $\bar{\rm MHV}$ in 6D. Combined with unitarity methods, this superspace should be useful for the study of multi-loop D dimensional maximal super Yang-Mills and gravity amplitudes. Furthermore, the non-chiral nature gives a natural framework for an…
We formulate the ten-dimensional super-Yang-Mills theory in a twisted superspace with 8+1 supercharges. Its constraints do not imply the equations of motion and we solve them. As a preliminary step for a complete formulation in a twisted superspace, we give a superspace path-integral formulation of the N=2, d=4 super-Yang-Mills theory without matter. The action is the sum of a Chern--Simons term depending on a super-connection plus a BF-like term. The integration over the superfield B implements the twisted superspace constraints on the super-gauge field, and the Chern-Simons action reduces to…
The paper is a brief review of the works devoted to problem of effective action in N=2 super Yang-Mills theories in harmonic superspace approach. The formulation of N=2 superfield models in harmonic superspace is discussed, background field method for N=2 super Yang-Mills theory is constructed and general structure of effective action in harmonic superspace is investigated. It is shown how the holomorphic and non-holomorphic contributions to effective action can be calculated within the harmonic superspace approach.
We study the N=4 harmonic superparticle model, both with and without central charge and quantize it. Since the central charge breaks the U(4) R-symmetry group of the N=4 superalgebra down to USp(4), we consider the superparticle dynamics in N=4 harmonic superspace with USp(4)/(U(1)xU(1)) harmonic variables. We show that the quantization of a massive superparticle with central charge leads to a superfield realization of the N=4 massive vector multiplet in N=4 harmonic superspace. In the massless case without central charge the superparticle quantization reproduces three different multiplets: th…
The background field method for N=2 super Yang-Mills theories in harmonic superspace is developed. The ghost structure of the theory is investigated. It is shown that the ghosts include two fermionic real omega-hypermultiplets (Faddeev-Popov ghosts) and one bosonic real omega-hypermultiplet (Nielsen-Kallosh ghost), all in the adjoint representation of the gauge group. The one-loop effective action is analysed in detail and it is found that its structure is determined only by the ghost corrections in the pure super Yang-Mills theory. As applied to the case of N=4 super Yang-Mills theory, realiz…
We present a formulation of the maximally supersymmetric N=4 gauge theory in Lorentz harmonic chiral (LHC) superspace. It is closely related to the twistor formulation of the theory but employs the simpler notion of Lorentz harmonic variables. They parametrize a two-sphere and allow us to handle efficiently infinite towers of higher-spin auxiliary fields defined on ordinary space-time. In this approach the chiral half of N=4 supersymmetry is manifest. The other half is realized non-linearly and the algebra closes on shell. We give a straightforward derivation of the Feynman rules in coordinate…
We reformulate 5D maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills in 4D Superspace, for a manifold with boundaries. We emphasise certain features and conventions necessary to allow for supersymmetric model building applications. Finally we apply the holographic interpretation of a slice of AdS and show how to generate Dirac soft masses between external source fields, as well as kinetic mixing, as a boundary effective action.
Observables of topological Yang-Mills theory were defined by Witten as the classes of an equivariant cohomology. We propose to define them alternatively as the BRST cohomology classes of a superspace version of the theory, where BRST invariance is associated to super Yang-Mills invariance. We provide and discuss the general solution of this cohomology.
We study the multipoint super-correlation functions of the full non-chiral stress-tensor multiplet in N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory in the Born approximation. We derive effective supergraph Feynman rules for them. Surprisingly, the Feynman rules for the non-chiral correlators are obtained from those for the chiral correlators by a simple Grassmann shift of the space-time variables. We rely on the formulation of the theory in Lorentz harmonic chiral (LHC) superspace elaborated in the twin paper arXiv:1601.06803. In this approach only the chiral half of the supersymmetry is manifest. The other hal…
We consider the off-shell formulation of the 5D, $ {\cal N}$=1 super Yang-Mills and super Chern-Simons theories in harmonic superspace. Using such a formulation we develop a manifestly supersymmetric and gauge invariant approach to constructing the one-loop effective action both in super Yang-Mills and super Chern-Simons models. On the base of this approach we compute the leading low-energy quantum contribution to the effective action on the Abelian vector multiplet background. This contribution corresponds to $F^4$ invariant which is given in 5D superfield form.
We analyse the relationship between the N=2 harmonic and projective superspaces which are the only approaches developed to describe general N=2 super Yang-Mills theories in terms of off-shell supermultiplets with conventional supersymmetry. The structure of low-energy hypermultiplet effective action is briefly discussed.
The superconformal properties of N=4 Yang-Mills theory are most naturally studied using the formalism of harmonic superspace. Superconformal invariance is shown to imply that the Green's functions of analytic operators are invariant holomorphic sections of a line bundle on a product of certain harmonic superspaces and it is argued that the theory is soluble for a class of such operators.
We discuss the construction of non-chiral S-matrix of four-dimensional N=4 super Yang-Mills using a non-chiral superspace. This construction utilizes the non-chiral representation of dual superconformal symmetry, which is the natural representation from the point of view of the six-dimensional parent theory. The superspace in discussion is projective superspace constructed by Hatsuda and Siegel, and is based on a half coset U(2,2|4)/U(1,1|2)^2_+. We obtain the non-chiral representation of the five-point and general n-point MHV and anti-MHV amplitude. The non-chiral formulation can be straightf…
In this work, we discuss the interaction between anti-symmetric rank-two tensor matter and topological Yang-Mills fields. The matter field considered here is the rank-2 Avdeev-Chizhov tensor matter field in a suitably extended $N_{T}=2$ SUSY. We start off from the $N_{T}=2$, D=4 superspace formulation and we go over to Riemannian manifolds. The matter field is coupled to the topological Yang-Mills field. We show that both actions are obtained as $Q-$exact forms, which allows us to write the energy-momentum tensor as $Q-$exact observables.
We propose N=4 twisted superspace formalism in four dimensions by introducing Dirac-Kahler twist. In addition to the BRST charge as a scalar counter part of twisted supercharge we find vector and tensor twisted supercharges. By introducing twisted chiral superfield we explicitly construct off-shell twisted N=4 SUSY invariant action. We can propose variety of supergauge invariant actions by introducing twisted vector superfield. We may, however, need to find further constraints to identify twisted N=4 super Yang-Mills action. We propose a superconnection formalism of twisted superspace where co…
Three-point functions of analytic (chiral primary) operators in N=4 Yang-Mills theory in four dimensions are calculated using the harmonic superspace formulation of this theory. In the case of the energy-momentum tensor multiplet anomaly considerations determine the coefficient. Analyticity in N=2 harmonic superspace is explicitly checked in a two-loop calculation.
A twistor correspondence for the self-duality equations for supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories is developed. Their solutions are shown to be encoded in analytic harmonic superfields satisfying appropriate generalised Cauchy-Riemann conditions. An action principle yielding these conditions is presented.
A simple BRST-closed expression for the color-ordered super-Yang-Mills 5-point amplitude at tree-level is proposed in pure spinor superspace and shown to be BRST-equivalent to the field theory limit of the open superstring 5-pt amplitude. It is manifestly cyclic invariant and each one of its five terms can be associated to the five Feynman diagrams which use only cubic vertices. Its form also suggests an empirical method to find superspace expressions in the cohomology of the pure spinor BRST operator for higher-point amplitudes based on their kinematic pole structure. Using this method, Ansae…
We formulate the WT identity for proper vertices in a simple and compact form $\partial Γ/ {\partial θ} =0 $ in a superspace formulation of gauge theories proposed earlier. We show this WT identity (together with a subsidiary constraint) lead, in transparent way, the superfield superspace multiplet renormalizations formulated earlier (and shown to explain symmetries of Yang-Mills theory renormalization).
In this paper we will analyse a three dimensional super-Yang-Mills theory on a deformed superspace with boundaries. We show that it is possible to obtain an undeformed theory on the boundary if the bulk superspace is deformed by imposing a non-vanishing commutator between bosonic and fermionic coordinates. We will also analyse this theory in the Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV) formalism and show that these results also hold at a quantum level.
Within the background field formulation in harmonic superspace for quantum N = 2 super Yang-Mills theories, the propagators of the matter, gauge and ghost superfields possess a complicated dependence on the SU(2) harmonic variables via the background vector multiplet. This dependence is shown to simplify drastically in the case of an on-shell vector multiplet. For a covariantly constant background vector multiplet, we exactly compute all the propagators. In conjunction with the covariant multi-loop scheme developed in hep-th/0302205, these results provide an efficient (manifestly N = 2 supersy…
We reconstruct the action of $N=1, D=4$ Wess-Zumino and $N=1, 2, D=4$ super-Yang-Mills theories, using integral top forms on the supermanifold ${\cal M}^{(4|4)}$. Choosing different Picture Changing Operators, we show the equivalence of their rheonomic and superspace actions. The corresponding supergeometry and integration theory are discussed in detail. This formalism is an efficient tool for building supersymmetric models in a geometrical framework.
We consider noncommutative {\cal N}=4 supersymmetric U(N) Yang-Mills theory. Using the {\cal N}=1 superfield formalism and the background field method we compute one-loop four point contributions to the effective action and compare the result with the field theory limit from open string amplitudes in the presence of a constant B-field.
We incorporate both BRS symmetry and anti-BRS symmetry into the quantisation of topological Yang--Mills theory. This refines previous treatments which consider only the BRS symmetry. Our formalism brings out very clearly the geometrical meaning of topological Yang--Mills theory in terms of connections and curvatures in an enlarged superspace; and its simple relationship to the geometry of ordinary Yang--Mills theory. We also discover a certain SU(3) triality between physical spacetime, and the two ghost directions of superspace. Finally, we demonstrate how to recover the usual gauge-fixed topo…
