Superforms in Five-Dimensional, $N = 1$ Superspace

Abstract

We examine the five-dimensional super-de Rham complex with $N = 1$ supersymmetry. The elements of this complex are presented explicitly and related to those of the six-dimensional complex in $N = (1, 0)$ superspace through a specific notion of dimensional reduction. This reduction also gives rise to a second source of five-dimensional super-cocycles that is based on the relative cohomology of the two superspaces. In the process of investigating these complices, we discover various new features including branching and fusion (loops) in the super-de Rham complex, a natural interpretation of "Weil triviality", $p$-cocycles that are not supersymmetric versions of closed bosonic $p$-forms, and the opening of a "gap" in the complex for $D > 4$ in which we find a multiplet of superconformal gauge parameters.