Streamlined Supergravity

Abstract

The textbook N=1 supergravity has an F-term potential depending on a superpotential $W(z_i)$ and a Kahler potential $K(z^i, \bar z^{\bar i})$, with the scalar potential $V(z^i, \bar z^{\bar i})=e^K (|DW|^2 - 3 |W|^2)$. In this approach, it is not always easy to find the potential $V(z^i, \bar z^{\bar i})$ with the required properties. We show that in supergravity with a nilpotent superfield and with any Kahler potential $K(z^i, \bar z^{\bar i} )$ one can obtain any desired potential $V(z^i, \bar z^{\bar i})$ by a proper choice of the Kahler metric of the nilpotent superfield. This construction is particularly suitable for cosmological and particle physics applications, which may require maximal freedom in the choice of kinetic terms and scalar potentials.