Higher-derivative $\mathcal{N}=1$ and $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric Maxwell-Chern-Simons theories at one loop in superspace

Abstract

We define a higher-derivative generalization of Maxwell-Chern-Simons theory in $\mathcal{N}=1$ and $\mathcal{N}=2$ superspaces. In particular, the chosen higher-derivative operator is a polynomial function of the d'Alembertian of arbitrary degree, and it is introduced exclusively in the gauge sector. The main goal is to explicitly compute the one-loop quantum corrections to the superfield effective potential for these theories. This is carried out by means of background field quantization in a higher-derivative $R_\xi$ gauge. The effective potential is obtained in closed form and expressed in terms of the roots of polynomial functions.