Model of supersymmetric quantum field theory with broken parity symmetry

Abstract

Recently, it was observed that self-interacting scalar quantum field theories having a non-Hermitian interaction term of the form $g(iϕ)^{2+δ}$, where $δ$ is a real positive parameter, are physically acceptable in the sense that the energy spectrum is real and bounded below. Such theories possess PT invariance, but they are not symmetric under parity reflection or time reversal separately. This broken parity symmetry is manifested in a nonzero value for $<ϕ>$, even if $δ$ is an even integer. This paper extends this idea to a two-dimensional supersymmetric quantum field theory whose superpotential is ${\cal S}(ϕ)=-ig(iϕ)^{1+δ}$. The resulting quantum field theory exhibits a broken parity symmetry for all $δ>0$. However, supersymmetry remains unbroken, which is verified by showing that the ground-state energy density vanishes and that the fermion-boson mass ratio is unity.