The Supersymmetric Kink via Higher-Derivative and Momentum Cut-Off Regularization Schemes

Abstract

We study the supersymmetric kink with higher derivative and momentum cut-off regularization schemes. We introduce the new momentum cut-off regularization scheme which we call ``generalized momentum cut-off''. A new, explicit computation for the central charge anomaly for this scheme is described in detail. The calculation of the first order mass corrections for the bosonic and supersymmetric kink within the momentum cut-off is presented in hep-th/0010051, so that one can compare the one-loop central charge and mass computed independently within the same regularization setup. We confirm that the BPS bound is saturated in one loop level. Thus the Wilsonian momentum cut-off regularization scheme is rehabilitated as a bona fide procedure for computing quantum corrections in the topologically nontrivial backgrounds. We lead the reader to the idea that a consistent regularization in general does not only assume that one regulates loops properly, but also requires caution in defining the total number of modes involved in the quantization of the theory. We also study the higher-derivative regularization scheme of Shifman et al. in great detail. We extend the Noether method for the case when the higher-derivatives are present in the Lagrangian. The extensive discussion of the technical aspects and the consistency of the higher-derivative scheme is given. We show that higher-derivative regularization gives, in general, a nonlocal topological current, which leads to the correct value of the anomaly in the central charge. We also comment on the status of the dimensional regularization approach to the computation of the central charge anomaly and kink mass.