Supergravity for Effective Theories

Abstract

Higher-derivative operators are central elements of any effective field theory. In supersymmetric theories, these operators include terms with derivatives in the Kähler potential. We develop a toolkit for coupling such supersymmetric effective field theories to supergravity. We explain how to write the action for minimal supergravity coupled to chiral superfields with arbitrary numbers of derivatives and curvature couplings. We discuss two examples in detail, showing how the component actions agree with the expectations from the linearized description in terms of a Ferrara-Zumino multiplet. In a companion paper, we apply the formalism to the effective theory of inflation.

26 pages