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.     

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.     

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.     

The logical quantization of algebraic groups

In a previous paper we introduced a highly abstract framework within which the theory of manuals initiated by Foulis and Randall is to be developed. The framework enabled us in a subsequent paper to quantize the notion of a set. Following these lines, this paper is devoted to quantizing algebraic groups viewed from Grothendieck's functorial standpoint.     

Hamiltonian BRST quantization of the conformal string

We present a new formulation of the tensionless string (T = 0) where the space-time conformal symmetry is manifest. Using a Hamiltonian BRST scheme we quantize this Conformal String and find that it has critical dimension D = 2. This is in keeping with our classical result that the model describes massless particles in this dimension. It is also consistent with our previous results which indicate that quantized conformally symmetric tensionless strings describe a topological phase away from D = 2.

We reach our result by demanding nilpotency of the BRST charge and consistency with the Jacobi identities. The derivation is presented in two different ways: in operator language and using mode expansions.

Careful attention is paid to regularization, a crucial ingredient in our calculations.     

On the BRST quantization of chiral bosons

The Siegel action for two right-moving chiral bosons can be BRST quantized. In the case in which their kinetic terms have opposite signs the momenta in the left-moving sector must be constrained to be zero. In this case the two chiral bosons can be described also by a quadratic action. There is no analogous BRST quantization for a single chiral boson.     

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.     

On the lie algebraic structure of a new field quantization

It is shown that a new field quatization algebra with 2n generators is isomorphic to the O(2n, 1) algebra. The SL(2, C) algebra is realized by the new quantization algebra with two generators only (n = 1).     

On BRST quantization of second class constraint algebras

A BRST quantization of second-class constraint algebras that avoids Dirac brackets is constructed, and the BRST operator is shown to be related to the BRST operator of first class algebra by a nonunitary canonical transformation. The transformation converts the second class algebra into an effective first class algebra with the help of an auxiliary second class algebra constructed from the dynamical Lagrange multipliers of the Dirac approach. The BRST invariant path integral for second class algebras is related to the path integral of the pertinent Dirac brackets, using the Parisi-Sourlas mechaism. As an application the possibility of string theories in subcritical dimensions is considered.     

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 of the string model with extrinsic curvature

The string model proposed by Polyakov is investigated as a two-dimensional field theory with higher-order derivatives. We reduce the model lagrangian to a simple useful form and achieve the BRST quantization. We show the nilpotence of the BRST charge under certain conditions, and discuss the unitarity of the theory.     

Higher algebraic structures and quantization

We derive (quasi-)quantum groups in 2+1 dimensional topological field theory directly from the classical action and the path integral. Detailed computations are carried out for the Chern-Simons theory with finite gauge group. The principles behind our computations are presumably more general. We extend the classical action in ad+1 dimensional topological theory to manifolds of dimension less thand+1. We then construct a generalized path integral which ind+1 dimensions reduces to the standard one and ind dimensions reproduces the quantum Hilbert space. In a 2+1 dimensional topological theory the path integral over the circle is the category of representations of a quasi-quantum group. In this paper we only consider finite theories, in which the generalized path integral reduces to a finite sum. New ideas are needed to extend beyond the finite theories treated here.The author is supported by NSF grant DMS-8805684, a Presidential Young Investigators award DMS-9057144, and by the O'Donnell Foundation. He warmly thanks the Geometry Center at the University of Minnesota for their hospitality while this work was undertaken