Invariance of Wess Zumino Action under SUSY

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on demonstrating the invariance of the Wess Zumino (WZ) action under supersymmetry (SUSY) transformations. The action is expressed as \(\int{d^4 x} \partial^\mu \phi* \partial_\mu \phi + i\psi^† \bar{\sigma}^\mu \partial_\mu \psi\). The user encounters an issue with a minus sign arising from the term \(i\psi^† \bar{\sigma}^\mu \partial_\mu \delta\psi\) during the variation process. This complication stems from the manipulation of Grassmann odd spinors, which introduces an additional minus sign that prevents the proof from being completed.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Wess Zumino model and its action formulation
  • Familiarity with SUSY transformations and their implications
  • Knowledge of Grassmann algebra and properties of spinors
  • Experience with variational principles in quantum field theory
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the derivation of the Wess Zumino action in detail
  • Review chapter 5 of "SUSY Demystified" by Labelle for insights on SUSY invariance
  • Learn about the properties of Grassmann variables and their role in SUSY
  • Explore examples of SUSY transformations in other quantum field theories
USEFUL FOR

The discussion is beneficial for theoretical physicists, particularly those specializing in quantum field theory and supersymmetry, as well as graduate students seeking to deepen their understanding of the Wess Zumino model and its invariance properties.

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Hi guys,
I have a very basic question about the WZ model. I want to show that it is invariant under SUSY transformations.

The action is \int{d^4 x} \partial^\mu \phi* \partial_\mu \phi +i\psi^† \bar{\sigma}^\mu \partial_\mu \psi

The SUSY transformations are \delta\phi = \epsilon \psi, \delta\phi* = \epsilon^† \psi^†, \delta\psi_\alpha = -i(\sigma^\nu \epsilon^†)_\alpha \partial_\nu \phi, \delta\psi^†_\alpha =i(\epsilon \sigma^\nu)_\alpha\partial_\nu \phi*

I know that I should get a total derivative that vanishes but there is one minus sign that is preventing me from completing the proof. It comes from the term i\psi^† \bar{\sigma}^\mu \partial_\mu \delta\psi in the variation. For this term I get the following:

\psi^† \bar{\sigma}^\mu \sigma^\nu \epsilon^† \partial_\mu \partial_\nu \phi

Then by using \bar{\sigma}^\mu \sigma^\nu + \bar{\sigma}^\nu \sigma^\mu = 2\eta^{\mu\nu} I have

\psi^† \epsilon^† \partial^\mu \partial_\mu \phi

I rewrite this as a total derivative minus another term

\partial^\mu(\psi^† \epsilon^† \partial_\mu \phi)-\partial^\mu\psi^† \epsilon^† \partial_\mu \phi

This is where the problem is. Now, in order for the second term to cancel a term from the variation of φ*, it should have exactly this form but with ψ† and ε† in reverse order. However, doing this introduces a minus sign as the spinors are grassmann odd. What have I done wrong in the manipulation, and how do I get rid of this extra minus sign?
 
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Without going through the explicit calculation, chapter 5 of Labelle's susy demystified goes through this in great detail.
 
haushofer said:
Without going through the explicit calculation, chapter 5 of Labelle's susy demystified goes through this in great detail.
Hi, thanks a lot for your answer. I'll have a look at that when I get to the library today. From the above though, can you see an error in my working or is it ok so far?
 

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