Supersymmetry and Higher Derivative Terms in the Effective Action of Yang-Mills Theories

Abstract

Higher derivative terms in the effective action of certain Yang-Mills theories can be severely constrained by supersymmetry. We show that requiring sixteen supersymmetries in quantum mechanical gauge theory determines the $v^6$ term in the effective action. Even the numerical coefficient of the $v^6$ term is fixed in terms of lower derivative terms in the effective action.