Cosmological implications of a supersymmetric extension of the Brans-Dicke theory

Abstract

In the Brans-Dicke theory the Planck mass is replaced by a dynamical scalar field. We consider here the supersymmetric analogous of this mechanism replacing in the supergravity Lagrangian the Planck mass with a chiral superfield. This analysis is motivated by the research of possible connections between supersymmetric Dark Matter scenarios and Dark Energy models based on Brans-Dicke-like theories. We find that, contrary to the original Brans-Dicke theory, in its supersymmetric analogous the gravitational sector does not couple to the matter sector in a universal metric way. As a result, violations of the weak equivalence principle could be present in such a scenario.