Super-Schwarzians via nonlinear realizations

Abstract: The N=1 and N=2 super-Schwarzian derivatives were originally introduced by physicists when computing a finite superconformal transformation of the super stress-energy tensor underlying a superconformal field theory. Mathematicians like to think of them as the cocycles describing central extensions of Lie superalgebras. In this work, a third possibility is discussed which consists in applying the method of nonlinear realizations to osp(1|2) and su(1,1|1) superconformal algebras. It is demonstrated that the super-Schwarzians arise quite naturally, if one decides to keep the number of independent Goldstone superfields to a minimum.