Supersymmetry breaking on the lattice: the N=1 Wess-Zumino model

Abstract: We discuss spontaneous supersymmetry breaking in the N=1 Wess-Zumino model in two dimensions on the lattice using Wilson fermions and the fermion loop formulation. In that formulation the fermion sign problem related to the vanishing of the Witten index can be circumvented and the model can be simulated very efficiently using the recently introduced open fermion string algorithm. We present first results for the supersymmetry breaking phase transition and sketch the preliminary determination of a renormalised critical coupling in the continuum limit.