THE MINIMAL N=2 SUPEREXTENSION OF THE NLS EQUATION

We show that the well known $N=1$ NLS equation possesses $N=2$ supersymmetry and thus it is actually the $N=2$ NLS equation. This supersymmetry is hidden in terms of the commonly used $N=1$ superfields but it becomes manifest after passing to the $N=2$ ones. In terms of the new defined variables the second Hamiltonian structure of the supersymmetric NLS equation coincides with the $N=2$ superconformal algebra and the $N=2$ NLS equation belongs to the $N=2$ $a=4$ KdV hierarchy. We propose the KP-like Lax operator in terms of the $N=2$ superfields which reproduces all the conserved currents for the corresponding hierarchy.