General theory of renormalization of gauge invariant operators

We study the question of renormalization of gauge invariant operators in the gauge theories. Our discussion applies to gauge invariant operators of arbitrary dimensions and tensor structure. We show that the gauge noninvariant (and ghost) operators that mix with a given set of gauge invariant operators form a complete set of local solutions of a functional differential equation. We show that this set of gauge noninvariant operators together with the gauge invariant operators close under renormalization to all orders. We obtain a complete set of local solutions of the differential equation. The form of these solutions has recently been conjectured by Kluberg Stern and Zuber. With the help of our solutions, we show that there exists a basis of operators in which the gauge noninvariant operators “decouple” from the gauge invariant operators to all orders in the sense that eigenvalues corresponding to the eigenstates containing gauge invariant operators can be computed without having to compute the full renormalization metrix. We further discuss the substructure of the renormalization matrix.