BRST quantization of superstring field theory

We write the gauge fixed action which arises in the quantization of Witten's string field theory in a linear gauge, in a form which applies to both the superstring and the bosonic string. The corresponding BRST transformation is nilpotent only on-shell. We construct also an off-shell nilpotent BRST transformation which formally leaves invariant the quantum effective action. This BRST transformation has a geometrical interpretation which could allow to describe the gauge anomalies of the superstring field theory as the nontrivial cohomology of the BRST charge via the Wess-Zumino consistency condition.     

Hamiltonian BRST quantization of the interacting antisymmetric tensor field

We study the hamiltonian BRST quantization of the non-abelian antisymmetric tensor field. We find the constrained system which arises from the standard action by Dirac's procedure, and eliminate the second-class constraints by introducing Dirac brackets. Having isolated the underlying first-class constrained system, we quantize it using the hamiltonian BRST techniques of Batalin and Fradkin. We study the Lorentz covariant gauge fixing of this system, and discuss the relationship between our results and other recent studies of the interacting antisymmetric tensor field.     

BRST quantization ofN = 2, 3, and 4 superconformal theories on higher-genus Riemann surfaces

Complex contour integral techniques, developed in a previous paper for theN=0 and 1 superconformal theories on higher-genus Riemann surfaces, are applied to a Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) quantization procedure of superconformal theories withN=2, 3, and 4 super-Krichever-Novikov (KN) constraint algebras on a genus-g Riemann surface. The BRST charges of the superconformai theories are constructed and the nilpotency of the BRST charges is checked. The critical spacetime dimension and the intercepts are found for theN=2 and 4 cases. Also calculated are the central charge and the intercept for theN=3 case.     

Stochastic quantization,supersymmetry and the Nicolai map

We present a formulation of the method of stochastic quantization of Parisi and W that reveals its intimate connection with supersymmetry. The crucial ingredient of this analysis is the Nicolai map. By using supersymmetric Ward identities, we derive relations between two Fokker-Planck-type Hamiltonians which arise naturally in this formalism.     

Soliton quantization in lattice field theories

Quantization of solitons in terms of Euclidean region functional integrals is developed, and Osterwalder-Schrader reconstruction is extended to theories with topological solitons. The quantization method is applied to several lattice field theories with solitons, and the particle structure in the soliton sectors of such theories is analyzed. A construction of magnetic monopoles in the four-dimensional, compactU(1)-model, in the QED phase, is indicated as well.     

Relating field theories via stochastic quantization

This note aims to subsume several apparently unrelated models under a common framework. Several examples of well-known quantum field theories are listed which are connected via stochastic quantization. We highlight the fact that the quantization method used to obtain the quantum crystal is a discrete analog of stochastic quantization. This model is of interest for string theory, since the (classical) melting crystal corner is related to the topological A-model. We outline several ideas for interpreting the quantum crystal on the string theory side of the correspondence, exploring interpretations in the Wheeler–De Witt framework and in terms of a non-Lorentz invariant limit of topological M-theory.     

Geometric BRST quantization,I: Prequantization

This is the first part of a two-part paper dedicated to the definition of BRST quantization in the framework of geometric quantization. After recognizing prequantization as a manifestation of the Poisson module structure of the sections of the prequantum line bundle, we define BRST prequantization and show that it is the homological analog of the symplectic reduction of prequantum data. We define a prequantum BRST cohomology theory and interpret it in terms of geometric objects. We then show that all Poisson structures correspond under homological reduction. This allows to prove, in the BRST context, that prequantization and reduction commute.     

BRST quantization of the superparticle

We show that the quantization of the superparticle action is possible. This is done by shifts in the BRST operator and the resulting action has an infinite number of ghosts. The total BRST operator is given by an infinite sum and is shown to be nilpotent. We also obtain a BRST invariant kinetic operator that contains the dynamical, auxiliary and gauge pieces in it.     

Nonstandard canonical quantization of local field theories

A recent new approach to classical local field theories (CLFT) offers a new, alternative quantization procedure of fields. A brief discussion of this nonstandard field quantization is given.Presented at the International Conference Selected Topics in Quantum Field Theory and Mathematical Physics, Bechyn, Czechoslovakia, June 23–27, 1986.     

Canonical quantization of Galilean covariant field theories

The Galilean-invariant field theories are quantized by using the canonical method and the five-dimensional Lorentz-like covariant expressions of non-relativistic field equations. This method is motivated by the fact that the extended Galilei group in 3 + 1 dimensions is a subgroup of the inhomogeneous Lorentz group in 4 + 1 dimensions. First, we consider complex scalar fields, where the Schrödinger field follows from a reduction of the Klein-Gordon equation in the extended space. The underlying discrete symmetries are discussed, and we calculate the scattering cross-sections for the Coulomb interaction and for the self-interacting term λΦ⁴. Then, we turn to the Dirac equation, which, upon dimensional reduction, leads to the Lévy-Leblond equations. Like its relativistic analogue, the model allows for the existence of antiparticles. Scattering amplitudes and cross-sections are calculated for the Coulomb interaction, the electron-electron and the electron-positron scattering. These examples show that the so-called ‘non-relativistic’ approximations, obtained in low-velocity limits, must be treated with great care to be Galilei-invariant. The non-relativistic Proca field is discussed briefly.     

Topological quantization of mass in extended gauge theories with a monopole

Alvarez's treatment of topological charge quantization is generalized to include extended objects like the Dirac string in the presence of a magnetic pole. We rederive the topological mass quantization of the Abelian gauge field in (2+1)-dimensional spacetime previously derived by Henneaux and Teitelboim. A plausible argument is given for the general 2p + 1 cases in which the present method works.     

Geometric quantization of the BRST charge

In the first half of this paper (Sects. 1–4) we generalise the standard geometric quantization procedure to symplectic supermanifolds. In the second half (Sects. 5, 6) we apply this to two examples that exhibit classical BRST symmetry, i.e., we quantize the BRST charge and the ghost number. More precisely, in the first example we consider the reduced symplectic manifold obtained by symplectic reduction from a free group action with Ad^*-equivariant moment map; in the second example we consider a foliated configuration space, whose cotangent bundle admits the construction of a BRST charge associated to this foliation. We show that the classical BRST symmetry can be described in terms of a hamiltonian supergroup action on the extended phase space, and that geometric quantization gives us a super-unitary representation of this supergroup. Finally we point out how these results are related to reduction at the quantum level, as compared with the reduction at the classical level.Research supported by the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research (NWO)     

BRST quantization in the Siegel gauge

From a formal generalization to N copies of the free open string field theory BRST-quantized in the Siegel gauge we reproduce the BRST quantization of the free closed bosonic string field theory and obtain the one of massless higher spin field theories.     

Measures in the geometric quantization of field theories

In this article, it is shown that for the standard symplectic form on the space of compactly supported sections of a symplectic fibre bundle, there is no locally-finite Borel measure which is preserved by the Hamiltonian flows of even a quite restricted set of functions on this space. As this means that some of the operators arising in geometric quantization associated to classical observables would not be Hermitean, the result suggests that one should consider quotients by gauge groups as classical phase spaces to avoid this problem.