Supersymmetry at ordinary energies. II. R invariance, Goldstone bosons, and gauge-fermion masses

We explore the observable consequences of supersymmetry, under the assumption that it is broken spontaneously at energies of order 300 GeV. Theories of this sort tend automatically to obey a global R symmetry, which presents us with a choice among phenomenologically unacceptable alternatives. If the R symmetry is broken by scalar vacuum expectation values of order 300 GeV, there will be a semiweakly coupled light Goldstone boson, similar to an axion. If it is not broken by such vacuum expectation values but is broken by quantum-chromodynamic (QCD) anomalies, then there will be a light ninth pseudoscalar meson. If it is not broken by QCD anomalies, then the asymptotic freedom of QCD is lost at high energies, killing the hope of an eventual meeting of the electroweak and strong couplings within the regime of validity of perturbation theory. We also confront the problem of an uncomfortably light gluino. A general analysis of gaugino masses shows that the gluino mass is at most of order 1 GeV, and in many cases much less.