Remark on the consistent gauge anomaly in supersymmetric theories

We present a direct field theoretical calculation of the consistent gauge a nomaly in the superfield formalism, on the basis of a definition of the eff ective action through the covariant gauge current. The scheme is conceptual ly and technically simple and the gauge covariance in intermediate steps re duces calculational labors considerably. The resultant superfield anomaly, being proportional to the anomaly d(abc) = trT(a){T-b,T-c}, is minimal with out supplementing any counterterms. Our anomaly coincides with the anomaly obtained by Marinkovic as the solution of the Wess-Zumino consistency condi tion. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.