Aspects of a supersymmetric Brans-Dicke theory

Abstract

We consider a locally supersymmetric theory where the Planck mass is replaced by a dynamical superfield. This model can be thought of as the Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the Brans-Dicke theory (MSBD). The motivation that underlies this analysis is the research of possible connections between Dark Energy models based on Brans-Dicke-like theories and supersymmetric Dark Matter scenarios. We find that the phenomenology associated with the MSBD model is very different compared to the one of the original Brans-Dicke theory: the gravitational sector does not couple to the matter sector in a universal metric way. This feature could make the minimal supersymmetric extension of the BD idea phenomenologically inconsistent.