The chiral superfield condition is for both dotted components. Use left Grassmann derivatives with the displayed supersymmetric covariant derivatives. The odd product rule gives , so
The chirality constraint therefore says that is independent of at fixed . The Grassmann algebra has only two independent components, so every cubic product of them vanishes. Its general even scalar superfield consequently has a scalar coefficient, a term linear in with a Weyl spinor coefficient, and one quadratic term. Choosing the conventional component normalization gives the chiral-superfield component expansion
Here is a complex scalar field, an odd Weyl spinor and a complex nonpropagating auxiliary field. Conversely this expansion is annihilated by because and are. At fixed ordinary , the same result is the terminating translation ; this retains the printed contraction convention without changing the order in the barred square.
For a local function of scalar superfields, initially allow . The chain rule gives
For arbitrary chiral component fields the last factor is not constrained to vanish, so chirality requires . Thus on its domain, with no generic conjugate-field dependence. Its ordinary holomorphic derivatives must exist where its nilpotent expansion is evaluated; a pole or branch point there does not define a regular local superfield. Using gives the explicit holomorphic closure of chiral superfields:
All three component coefficients are evaluated at . For several chiral superfields, replace by and by . This requirement concerns a function that is to be chiral for arbitrary field configurations; a special constant field configuration does not impose the same functional constraint.
The ungauged two-derivative supersymmetric action is obtained from a real Kähler potential and a holomorphic superpotential:
The first integral is a D-term; the second is an F-term. The Kähler metric must be positive for positive scalar kinetic energy. The auxiliary part is , so eliminating it gives the scalar potential in the bosonic sector.
For the single-field Wess–Zumino model, take the canonical Kähler potential and spacetime signature . Component superspace integration gives
Since and , the auxiliary equation is . Completing its square leaves in the Lagrangian. Hence the tree-level effective potential is
For nonzero , its two zero-energy supersymmetric vacua are and . The potential is nonnegative because it is an absolute square.
The Trilinear scalar vertices in the Wess–Zumino model come from
With all field legs incoming, expanding and differentiating each cubic monomial gives
The factor counts the two identical legs; there is no in to cancel it. A factor enforcing four-momentum conservation is implicit. These labels specify fields in an all-incoming Feynman rule; physical outgoing particles are assigned by crossing. There are no or scalar vertices from this on-shell potential.
Figure 1.
Conjugate trilinear scalar vertices and their all-incoming Feynman rules in the Wess–Zumino model
. Details.
Equivalently, if are real and with canonically normalized real scalars , then . Differentiation gives , with vanishing and vertices. This is the same pair of complex-field interactions in a real basis.
For the non-renormalization argument, promote to nondynamical chiral spurions. Define one ordinary and one R-symmetry by the Wess–Zumino spurion charge assignment:
Table 1.
Ordinary and R-symmetry spurion charges
.
QuantityOrdinary charge R-charge
Each superpotential term is neutral under the ordinary symmetry. Under the R-symmetry, both terms have charge two, which is canceled by the charge of . In particular, is R-neutral as required. The scalar, spinor and auxiliary components of have R-charges . These are formal symmetries when the couplings transform as spurions; replacing them by fixed nonzero numbers need not leave an actual continuous field symmetry.
A local loop-corrected Wilsonian effective action superpotential must be holomorphic in all three chiral variables and obey the same charges. The ratio is neutral under both symmetries, while has the required charges and mass dimension three. Therefore, on a patch with , the most general symmetry-allowed form is
with holomorphic on its domain. This form follows directly for a monomial : ordinary charge gives and R-charge gives , hence , . Each allowed monomial is and already has mass dimension three. Charge symmetry alone leaves undetermined.
To constrain perturbative loops, retain the original elementary chiral superfield and a nonzero infrared cutoff, rather than integrating out the entire field. A regular perturbative superpotential can be expanded about , so and
Terms with have poles at . They are excluded by regularity of the local Wilsonian coefficients in the massless limit with the infrared cutoff fixed. At the theory is Gaussian, so the quadratic coefficient remains . The term linear in is the single original cubic vertex: a diagram with three external fields and only that one interaction vertex has no internal loop. Holomorphy disallows coefficients involving or , so it cannot conceal the usual nonholomorphic wave-function corrections in . Matching the one-vertex term gives . Thus the holomorphy argument for superpotential non-renormalization gives
The infrared qualification matters: a singular one-particle-irreducible expression or the action after eliminating an entire massive multiplet is not the same local Wilsonian effective action for the retained field.
Consequently the holomorphic superpotential and its parameters m and g receive no perturbative vertex renormalization. The Kähler potential does undergo wave-function renormalization. If its quadratic term is , then canonical normalization gives and
These canonically normalized running couplings can therefore be renormalized despite the non-renormalization theorem for the holomorphic superpotential. Loop corrections can also change the effective scalar potential through the corrected Kähler metric. The distinction between holomorphic coefficients and canonically normalized couplings is essential to answering the renormalization question.