Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2001 / iii / Paper 65 / 1 / iv

Anticommuting-variable dependence alone is not the defining condition: a superfield must carry a specified Super-Poincaré group transformation law. Any appropriately graded function on superspace becomes an unconstrained scalar superfield under coordinate pullback, but an arbitrary collection of coefficients in a Grassmann variable polynomial is not automatically a prescribed supermultiplet. For example, a chiral superfield has $\Phi (y,\theta )=A(y)+\sqrt{2}\theta \psi (y)+{\theta }^{2}F(y)$, with $y^{\mu }=x^{\mu }+i\theta {\sigma }^{\mu }\bar{\theta }$ and ${\bar{D}}_{\dot{\alpha }}\Phi =0$; a vector superfield obeys $V=V^{†}$ and contains a gauge vector, gaugino and auxiliary field in Wess-Zumino gauge. A polynomial with constant component fields can be a special chiral superfield; lack of explicit spacetime dependence alone does not disqualify it. This is superfield covariance is not Grassmann dependence alone.