Supersymmetric and R symmetric vacua in Wess-Zumino models

Abstract

In the context of supersymmetric Wess-Zumino models with an R symmetry, we find some simple conditions on the R-charge content of the theory that imply the presence or absence of supersymmetric and R-symmetric vacua. The main result of this work is that the comparison between the number of R-charge 0 and R-charge 2 superfields is essential to the properties of the model as regards symmetry breaking. We also study possible exceptions to the Nelson-Seiberg theorem --finding that there are supersymmetric vacua that break R symmetry in generic models-- and the spontaneous breaking of R symmetry in supersummetry-breaking vacua, with some insight on the Coleman-Weinberg one-loop potential.