SUPERSYMMETRY BREAKING IN M-THEORY

We Te describe the breaking of supersymmetry in M-theory by coordinate dependent (Scherk-Schwarz) compactification of the eleventh dimension . Supersymmetry is spontaneously broken in the gravitational and modul i sector and communicated to the observable sector, living at the end- point of the semicircle, by radiative gravitational interactions. This mechanism shares the generic features of non-perturbative supersymmet ry breaking by gaugino condensation, in the presence of a constant ant isymmetric field strength, in the weakly coupled regime of the heterot ic string, which suggests that both mechanisms could be related by dua lity. In particular an analysis of supersymmetric transformations in t he infinite-radius limit reveals the presence of a discontinuity in th e spinorial parameter, which coincides with the result found in the pr esence of gaugino condensation, while the condensate is identified wit h the quantized parameter entering the boundary conditions.