Fayet–Iliopoulos term ($\xi D$)

A Fayet–Iliopoulos term is a gauge-invariant term linear in the auxiliary $D$ field of an Abelian vector multiplet. Supersymmetry is broken only if no charged-scalar configuration can make the shifted D-term vanish simultaneously with every F-term.

In the conventional two-derivative supergravity action described by a Kähler potential, superpotential and gauge kinetic function, a constant Fayet–Iliopoulos term cannot be added independently of the gauging. It makes the Abelian gauging an R-symmetry gauging, and the superpotential must have the corresponding gauge transformation. Thus the rigid Abelian constant is subject to extra local consistency conditions. This statement concerns the conventional matter-coupled action, not distinct nonstandard FI constructions.

In an exactly supersymmetric Abelian theory a one-loop auxiliary-field tadpole can generate a cutoff-dependent Fayet–Iliopoulos term proportional to the trace of the matter charges. Gauge invariance with arbitrary background spurions forbids a general coupling-dependent full-superspace coefficient multiplying the vector superfield. In the supersymmetry-preserving Wilsonian setting the additive perturbative correction is exhausted by the one-loop term; it vanishes for a traceless charge generator. Canonical vector normalization and soft breaking require separate treatment. For a simple non-Abelian group the term itself is forbidden.

A constant linear auxiliary-field term ${\xi }_a{D}^a$ is gauge-invariant only when $\xi$ is an invariant vector in the dual adjoint representation. Equivalently, it annihilates all Lie brackets. A simple non-Abelian Lie algebra equals its commutator algebra and has no such nonzero vector. Abelian factors do admit the term. Identifying a Fayet–Iliopoulos parameter in a simple non-Abelian theory therefore requires setting it to zero, rather than treating it as an arbitrary coupling.