Gravitino condensate in N = 1 supergravity coupled to the N = 1 supersymmetric Born–Infeld theory

Abstract

Abstract The $N=1$ supersymmetric Born–Infeld theory coupled to $N=1$ supergravity in four spacetime dimensions is studied in the presence of a cosmological term with spontaneous supersymmetry breaking. The consistency is achieved by compensating a negative contribution to the cosmological term from the Born–Infeld theory by a positive contribution originating from the gravitino condensate. This leads to an identification of the Born–Infeld scale with the supersymmetry-breaking scale. The dynamical formation of the gravitino condensate in supergravity is reconsidered and the induced one-loop effective potential is derived. Slow-roll cosmological inflation with the gravitino condensate as the inflaton (near the maximum of the effective potential) is viable against the Planck 2018 data and can lead to the inflationary (Hubble) scale as high as $10^{12}$ GeV. Uplifting the Minkowski vacuum (after inflation) to a de Sitter vacuum (dark energy) is possible by the use of the alternative Fayet–Iliopoulos term. Some major physical consequences of our scenario for reheating are also briefly discussed.