The Super-Stückelberg procedure and dS in pure supergravity

Area of Science:

• Theoretical Physics
• Cosmology
• String Theory

Background:

• The accelerated expansion of the Universe, discovered in 1998, has driven extensive research into de Sitter space within supergravity and string theory for over two decades.
• Existing models often require additional matter fields to achieve de Sitter solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate a non-trivial generalization of unimodular gravity to minimal supergravity.
• To develop a framework for de Sitter solutions without introducing external matter fields.
• To naturally incorporate the goldstino and link cosmological parameters to spontaneous supersymmetry breaking.

Main Methods:

• Formulation of a superspace version of the Stückelberg procedure.
• Restoration of diffeomorphism and local supersymmetry invariance.
• Introduction of a Lagrange multiplier to impose a super-unimodularity condition.

Main Results:

• A novel generalization of unimodular gravity to minimal supergravity is presented.
• De Sitter solutions are achieved without the need for additional matter.
• The Stückelberg procedure in superspace naturally introduces the goldstino, associated with spontaneous supersymmetry breaking.
• The cosmological constant and gravitino mass are found to be related to the vacuum expectation value of specific Lagrange multiplier components.

Conclusions:

• The proposed framework offers a new approach to de Sitter cosmology within supergravity.
• This method provides a natural mechanism for incorporating spontaneous supersymmetry breaking and its associated phenomena.
• The findings connect fundamental parameters like the cosmological constant and gravitino mass to the underlying supergravity structure.