Gauging N=4 supersymmetric mechanics II:: (1,4,3) models from the (4,4,0) ones

Exploiting the gauging procedure developed by us in hep-th/0605211, we study the relationships between the models of M = 4 mechanics based on the off-shell multiplets (4, 4, 0) and (1, 4, 3). We make use of the off-shell M = 4, d = 1 harmonic superspace approach as most adequate for treating this circle of problems. We show that the most general sigma-model type superfield action of the multiplet (1, 4, 3) can be obtained in a few non-equivalent ways from the (4, 4, 0) actions invariant under certain three-parameter symmetries, through gauging the latter by the appropriate non-propagating gauge multiplets. We discuss in detail the gauging of both the Pauli-Gursey SU(2) symmetry and the Abelian three-generator shift symmetry. We reveal the (4, 4, 0) origin of the known mechanisms of generating potential terms for the multiplet (1, 4, 3), as well as of its superconformal properties. A new description of this multiplet in terms of unconstrained harmonic analytic gauge superfield is proposed. It suggests, in particular, a novel mechanism of generating the (1, 4, 3) potential terms via coupling to the fermionic off-shell N = 4 multiplet (0, 4, 4). (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.