The Common Origin of Linear and Nonlinear Chiral Multiplets in N=4 Mechanics

Understand

Elaborating on previous work (hep-th/0605211, hep-th/0611247), we show how the linear and nonlinear chiral multiplets of N=4 supersymmetric mechanics with the off-shell content (2,4,2) can be obtained by gauging three distinct two-parameter isometries of the ``root'' (4,4,0) multiplet actions.

• In particular, two different gauge groups, one abelian and one non-abelian, lead, albeit in a disguised form in the second case, to the same (unique) nonlinear chiral multiplet.
• This provides an evidence that no other nonlinear chiral N=4 multiplets exist.
• General sigma model type actions are discussed, together with the restricted potential terms coming from the Fayet-Iliopoulos terms associated with abelian gauge superfields.