Generalised Fayet-Iliopoulos terms in supergravity

Abstract: The U(1) vector multiplet theory with the Fayet-Iliopoulos (FI) term is one of the oldest and simplest models for spontaneously broken rigid supersymmetry. Lifting the FI term to supergravity requires gauged $R$-symmetry, as was first demonstrated in 1977 by Freedman within ${\cal N}=1$ supergravity. There exists an alternative to the standard FI mechanism, which is reviewed in this conference paper. It is obtained by replacing the FI model with a manifestly gauge-invariant action such that its functional form is determined by two arbitrary real functions of a single complex variable. One of these functions generates a superconformal kinetic term for the vector multiplet, while the other yields a generalised FI term. Coupling such a vector multiplet model to supergravity does not require gauging of the $R$-symmetry. These generalised FI terms are consistently defined for any off-shell formulation for ${\cal N}=1$ supergravity, and are compatible with a supersymmetric cosmological term.