Anomalous Supersymmetry

Abstract

We show that supersymmetry is anomalous in $\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal quantum field theories (SCFTs) with an anomalous R-symmetry. This anomaly was originally found in holographic SCFTs at strong coupling. Here we show that this anomaly is present in general and demonstrate it for the massless superconformal Wess-Zumino model via a one loop computation. The anomaly appears first in four-point functions of two supercurrents with either two R-currents or with an R-current and an energy momentum tensor. In fact, the Wess-Zumino consistency conditions together with the standard R-symmetry anomaly imply the existence of the anomaly. We outline the implications of this anomaly.

Comments: 5 pages; v2 - contextual discussion and references added; v3 - final PRL version, with comments added