Superspace Formulation in a Three-Algebra Approach to D=3, N=4,5 Superconformal Chern-Simons Matter Theories

TL;DR

This paper develops a superspace formulation for D=3, N=4,5 superconformal Chern-Simons matter theories using symplectic 3-algebras, extending previous methods and clarifying algebraic relationships.

Contribution

It introduces a superspace approach to construct N=4,5 superconformal theories with symplectic 3-algebras, generalizing existing frameworks and connecting to Lie superalgebras.

Findings

Constructed N=1 superconformal action and enhanced to N=5.

Derived N=4 theories using supermultiplet decomposition and superpotential.

Reproduced all known N=4,5 theories within the superspace 3-algebra framework.

Abstract

We present a superspace formulation of the D=3, N=4,5 superconformal Chern-Simons Matter theories, with matter supermultiplets valued in a symplectic 3-algebra. We first construct an N=1 superconformal action, and then generalize a method used by Gaitto and Witten to enhance the supersymmetry from N=1 to N=5. By decomposing the N=5 supermultiplets and the symplectic 3-algebra properly and proposing a new super-potential term, we construct the N=4 superconformal Chern-Simons matter theories in terms of two sets of generators of a (quaternion) symplectic 3-algebra. The N=4 theories can also be derived by requiring that the supersymmetry transformations are closed on-shell. The relationship between the 3-algebras, Lie superalgebras, Lie algebras and embedding tensors (proposed in [E. A. Bergshoeff, O. Hohm, D. Roest, H. Samtleben, and E. Sezgin, J. High Energy Phys. 09 (2008) 101.]) is also clarified. The general N=4,5 superconformal Chern-Simons matter theories in terms of ordinary Lie algebras can be rederived in our 3-algebra approach. All known N=4,5 superconformal Chern-Simons matter theories can be recovered in the present superspace formulation for super-Lie-algebra realization of symplectic 3-algebras.