Studies of the ABJM Theory in a Formulation with Manifest SU(4) R-Symmetry

We examine the three-dimensional N = 6 superconformal Chern--Simons theory with U(N) X U(N) gauge symmetry, which was recently constructed by Aharony, Bergman, Jafferis, and Maldacena (ABJM). Using a formulation with manifest SU(4) R-symmetry and no auxiliary fields, we verify in complete detail both the Poincare supersymmetry and the conformal supersymmetry of the action. Together, these imply the complete OSp(6|4) superconformal symmetry of the theory. The potential, which is sixth order in scalar fields, is recast as a sum of squares.