R-symmetry, supersymmetry breaking and metastable vacua in global and local supersymmetric theories

Abstract

We study N = 1 global and local supersymmetric theories with a continuous global U(1) R symmetry as models of dynamical supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking. We introduce explicit R-symmetry breaking terms into such models, in particular a generalized O'Raifeartaigh model. Such explicit R-symmetry breaking terms can lead to a SUSY preserving minimum. We classify explicit R-symmetry breaking terms by the structure of newly appeared SUSY stationary points as a consequence of the R-breaking effect, which could make the SUSY breaking vacuum metastable. We show that the R-breaking terms are basically divided into two categories. One of them does not generate a SUSY solution, or yields SUSY solutions that disappear in the case of supergravity when we tune a parameter so that the original SUSY breaking minimum becomes a Minkowski vacuum. We also show that the general argument by Nelson and Seiberg for a dynamical SUSY breaking still holds with a local SUSY except for a certain nontrivial case, and present concrete examples of the exception. © SISSA 2007.