Dilaton and second-rank tensor fields as supersymmetric compensators

Abstract

We formulate a supersymmetric theory in which both a dilaton and a second-rank tensor play roles of compensators. The basic off-shell multiplets are a linear multiplet (B{sub {mu}}{sub {nu}},{chi},{phi}) and a vector multiplet (A{sub {mu}},{lambda};C{sub {mu}}{sub {nu}}{sub {rho}}), where {phi} and B{sub {mu}}{sub {nu}} are, respectively, a dilaton and a second-rank tensor. The third-rank tensor C{sub {mu}}{sub {nu}}{sub {rho}} in the vector multiplet is 'dual' to the conventional D field with 0 on-shell or 1 off-shell degree of freedom. The dilaton {phi} is absorbed into one longitudinal component of A{sub {mu}}, making it massive. Initially, B{sub {mu}}{sub {nu}} has 1 on-shell or 3 off-shell degrees of freedom, but it is absorbed into the longitudinal components of C{sub {mu}}{sub {nu}}{sub {rho}}. Eventually, C{sub {mu}}{sub {nu}}{sub {rho}} with 0 on-shell or 1 off-shell degree of freedom acquires in total 1 on-shell or 4 off-shell degrees of freedom, turning into a propagating massive field. These basic multiplets are also coupled to chiral multiplets and a supersymmetric Dirac-Born-Infeld action. Some of these results are also reformulated in superspace. The proposed mechanism may well provide a solution to the long-standing puzzle of massless dilatons and second-rank tensors in supersymmetric models inspired by string theory.