Metastable supersymmetry breaking in N=2 non-linear sigma-models

Understand

We perform a general study of the issue of metastability for supersymmetry-breaking vacua in theories with N=1 and N=2 global supersymmetry.

• This problem turns out to capture all the important qualitative features of the corresponding question in theories with local supersymmetry, where gravitational effects induce only quantitative modifications.
• Moreover, it allows to directly compare the conditions arising in the N=1 and N=2 cases, since the latter becomes particular case of the former in the rigid limit.
• Our strategy consists in a systematic investigation of the danger of instability coming from the sGoldstini scalars, whose masses are entirely due to supersymmetry breaking mass-splitting effects.