The Common Origin of Linear and Nonlinear Chiral Multiplets in N=4 Mechanics

Elaborating on previous work (hep-th/0605211, hep-th/0611247), we show how the linear and nonlinear chiral multiplets of N=4 supersymmetric mechanics with the off-shell content (2,4,2) can be obtained by gauging three distinct two-parameter isometries of the ``root'' (4,4,0) multiplet actions. In particular, two different gauge groups, one abelian and one non-abelian, lead, albeit in a disguised form in the second case, to the same (unique) nonlinear chiral multiplet. This provides an evidence that no other nonlinear chiral N=4 multiplets exist. General sigma model type actions are discussed, together with the restricted potential terms coming from the Fayet-Iliopoulos terms associated with abelian gauge superfields. As in our previous work, we use the manifestly supersymmetric language of N=4, d=1 harmonic superspace. A novel point is the necessity to use in parallel the \lambda and \tau gauge frames, with the ``bridges'' between these two frames playing a crucial role. It is the N=4 harmonic analyticity which, though being non-manifest in the \tau frame, gives rise to both linear and nonlinear chirality constraints.