We review the projective-superspace construction of four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric sigma models on (co)tangent bundles of the classical Hermitian symmetric spaces.
Starting with the projective-superspace off-shell formulation for four-dimensional N = 2 supersymmetric sigma-models on cotangent bundles of arbitrary Hermitian symmetric spaces, their on-shell description in terms of N = 1 chiral superfields is developed. In particular, we derive a universal representation for the hyperkaehler potential in terms of the curvature of the symmetric base space. Within the tangent-bundle formulation for such sigma-models, completed recently in arXiv:0709.2633 and realized in terms of N = 1 chiral and complex linear superfields, we give a new universal formula for the superspace Lagrangian. A closed form expression is also derived for the Kaehler potential of an arbitrary Hermitian symmetric space in Kaehler normal coordinates.
We address the construction of four-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models on tangent bundles of arbitrary Hermitian symmetric spaces starting from projective superspace. Using a systematic way of solving the (infinite number of) auxiliary field equations along with the requirement of supersymmetry, we are able to derive a closed form for the Lagrangian on the tangent bundle and to dualize it to give the hyperkahler potential on the cotangent bundle. As an application, the case of the exceptional symmetric space E_6/SO(10) times U(1) is explicitly worked out for the first time.
We formulate four-dimensional $mathcal{N} = 1$ supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models on Hermitian symmetric spaces with higher derivative terms, free from the auxiliary field problem and the Ostrogradskis ghosts, as gauged linear sigma models. We then study Bogomolnyi-Prasad-Sommerfield equations preserving 1/2 or 1/4 supersymmetries. We find that there are distinct branches, that we call canonical ($F=0$) and non-canonical ($F eq 0$) branches, associated with solutions to auxiliary fields $F$ in chiral multiplets. For the ${mathbb C}P^N$ model, we obtain a supersymmetric ${mathbb C}P^N$ Skyrme-Faddeev model in the canonical branch while in the non-canonical branch the Lagrangian consists of solely the ${mathbb C}P^N$ Skyrme-Faddeev term without a canonical kinetic term. These structures can be extended to the Grassmann manifold $G_{M,N} = SU(M)/[SU(M-N)times SU(N) times U(1)]$. For other Hermitian symmetric spaces such as the quadric surface $Q^{N-2}=SO(N)/[SO(N-2) times U(1)])$, we impose F-term (holomorphic) constraints for embedding them into ${mathbb C}P^{N-1}$ or Grassmann manifold. We find that these constraints are consistent in the canonical branch but yield additional constraints on the dynamical fields thus reducing the target spaces in the non-canonical branch.
There exist two superspace approaches to describe N=2 supersymmetric nonlinear sigma models in four-dimensional anti-de Sitter (AdS_4) space: (i) in terms of N=1 AdS chiral superfields, as developed in arXiv:1105.3111 and arXiv:1108.5290; and (ii) in terms of N=2 polar supermultiplets using the AdS projective-superspace techniques developed in arXiv:0807.3368. The virtue of the approach (i) is that it makes manifest the geometric properties of the N=2 supersymmetric sigma-models in AdS_4. The target space must be a non-compact hyperkahler manifold endowed with a Killing vector field which generates an SO(2) group of rotations on the two-sphere of complex structures. The power of the approach (ii) is that it allows us, in principle, to generate hyperkahler metrics as well as to address the problem of deformations of such metrics. Here we show how to relate the formulation (ii) to (i) by integrating out an infinite number of N=1 AdS auxiliary superfields and performing a superfield duality transformation. We also develop a novel description of the most general N=2 supersymmetric nonlinear sigma-model in AdS_4 in terms of chiral superfields on three-dimensional N=2 flat superspace without central charge. This superspace naturally originates from a conformally flat realization for the four-dimensional N=2 AdS superspace that makes use of Poincare coordinates for AdS_4. This novel formulation allows us to uncover several interesting geometric results.
The projective superspace formulation for four-dimensional N = 2 matter-coupled supergravity presented in arXiv:0805.4683 makes use of the variant superspace realization for the N = 2 Weyl multiplet in which the structure group is SL(2,C) x SU(2) and the super-Weyl transformations are generated by a covariantly chiral parameter. An extension to Howes realization of N = 2 conformal supergravity in which the tangent space group is SL(2,C) x U(2) and the super-Weyl transformations are generated by a real unconstrained parameter was briefly sketched. Here we give the explicit details of the extension.