Anomaly Mediation in Local Effective Theories

Understand

The phenomenon known as ``anomaly mediation" can be understood in a variety of ways.

• Rather than an anomaly, certain gaugino bilinear terms are required by local supersymmetry and gauge invariance (the derivation of these terms is in some cases related to anomalies in scale invariance or $R$ symmetries).
• We explain why the gaugino bilinear is required in supersymmetric gauge theories with varying number of colors and flavors.
• By working in the Higgs phase, gauging a flavor group, or working below the scale of gaugino condensation, each of these theories has a local effective description in which we can identify the bilinear term, establishing its necessity in the microscopic theory.