The background field method and the S-matrix

We prove that the S-matrix can be correctly obtained from the gauge-invariant effective action in the background field approach to gauge theories. In addition, we present a computation of the two-loop fermionic contributions to the Yang-Mills β-function.     

Poisson manifolds and their associated stacks

We associate to any integrable Poisson manifold a stack, i.e., a category fibered in groupoids over a site. The site in question has objects Dirac manifolds and morphisms pairs consisting of a smooth map and a closed 2-form. We show that two Poisson manifolds are symplectically Morita equivalent if and only if their associated stacks are isomorphic. We also discuss the non-integrable case.     

On the geometric prequantization of Poisson manifolds

The geometric prequantization of Poisson manifolds is described using the Weinstein theory of local symplectic groupoids.     

Unimodularity criteria for Poisson structures on foliated manifolds

We study the behavior of the modular class of an orientable Poisson manifold and formulate some unimodularity criteria in the semilocal context, around a (singular) symplectic leaf. Our results generalize some known unimodularity criteria for regular Poisson manifolds related to the notion of the Reeb class. In particular, we show that the unimodularity of the transverse Poisson structure of the leaf is a necessary condition for the semilocal unimodular property. Our main tool is an explicit formula for a bigraded decomposition of modular vector fields of a coupling Poisson structure on a foliated manifold. Moreover, we also exploit the notion of the modular class of a Poisson foliation and its relationship with the Reeb class.     

The variational problem and background fields in renormalization group method for lattice gauge theories

We consider the action of a lattice gauge theory on a space of regular gauge field configurations with fixed averages, and we prove that there exists a minimum of this action. The minimum is unique up to gauge transformations. This minimal configuration is called a background field, and it serves as a basis of an expansion and perturbative methods.Work partially supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant PHY 82-03669 and DMS 84-01989     

Separation of variables for integrable systems on Poisson manifolds

For an integrable system on Poisson manifolds, a construction of separated variables is discussed. We suppose that, for a given integrable system, we know a realization of the corresponding Lagrangian submanifold as the product of plane curves. In this case, we can use properties of the foliation of the initial Poisson manifold on symplectic leaves and values of the Casimir functions in order to construct separated variables.     

Poisson brackets and the Feynman problem

A derivation of a pair of Maxwell equations which is based on the concept of a Poisson structure on a manifold is given. The idea is geometric in character, and is extended to a generalized algebra. The special case of the dynamics for a particle in a Yang-Mills field is obtained as a consequence of the generalized case.     

The background field method and the ultraviolet structure of the supersymmetric nonlinear σ-model

Calculations of the ultraviolet counterterms of the bosonic and supersymmetric nonlinear σ-models in two space-time dimensions are undertaken in order to verify conclusions of a recent argument based on differential geometry in the supersymmetric case. The background field method and the normal coordinate expansion are discussed in detail, and the generalized renormalization group pole equations applicable to the nonlinear σ-model are derived. Both component and superfield calculations of the counterterms are presented.     

Symmetry restoration and the background field method in gauge theories

Spontaneously broken gauge theories in a constant external electromagnetic field are shown to exhibit a first-order phase transition to a restored symmetry phase when the external field exceeds a certain critical value. The effects of fields characterized by various values of the two Lorentz invariants $\text{F}{}_1\text{=}\text{1}\text{2}\text{(B}{}^2\text{? E}{}^2\text{)}$ and F₂ = E · B are discussed. In a simple SU(2) model the critical field strength is found to be g_R²(F₁)_crit = 0.057 m_w⁴, m_w being the vector boson mass. A number of theoretical developments in the background field formalism are presented. A new gauge-fixing term, the background field R gauge, is introduced. The configuration space heat kernel method for evaluating functional determinants, extended to allow the use of dimensional regularization, is employed, and it is shown how to perform background field calculations in a gauge specified by an arbitrary parameter α. Further applications of these methods are discussed.     

Patterns of gauge symmetry in the background field method

The European Physical Journal C - A very general class of axially symmetric metrics in general relativity (GR) that includes rotations is used to discuss the dynamics of rotationally supported...     

A Lagrangian for Hamiltonian vector fields on singular Poisson manifolds

On a manifold equipped with a bivector field, we introduce for every Hamiltonian a Lagrangian on paths valued in the cotangent space whose stationary points project onto Hamiltonian vector fields. We show that the remaining components of those stationary points tell whether the bivector field is Poisson or at least defines an integrable distribution—a class of bivector fields generalizing twisted Poisson structures that we study in detail.     

On the Fedosov deformation quantization beyond the regular Poisson manifolds

A simple iterative procedure is suggested for the deformation quantization of (irregular) Poisson brackets associated to the classical Yang–Baxter equation. The construction is shown to admit a pure algebraic reformulation giving the Universal Deformation Formula (UDF) for any triangular Lie bialgebra. A simple proof of classification theorem for inequivalent UDF's is given. As an example the explicit quantization formula is presented for the quasi-homogeneous Poisson brackets on two-plane.     

Generalized classical BRST cohomology and reduction of Poisson manifolds

In this paper, we formulate a generalization of the classical BRST construction which applies to the case of the reduction of a Poisson manifold by a submanifold. In the case of symplectic reduction, our procedure generalizes the usual classical BRST construction which only applies to symplectic reduction of a symplectic manifold by a coisotropic submanifold, i.e. the case of reducible first class constraints. In particular, our procedure yields a method to deal with second-class constraints. We construct the BRST complex and compute its cohomology. BRST cohomology vanishes for negative dimension and is isomorphic as a Poisson algebra to the algebra of smooth functions on the reduced Poisson manifold in zero dimension. We then show that in the general case of reduction of Poisson manifolds, BRST cohomology cannot be identified with the cohomology of vertical differential forms.Address after September 1992     

Stochastic quantization of the nonlinear sigma model and the background field method

The background field method is a useful scheme for calculation of the effective action in conventional quantum field theory. In stochastic quantization this approach is introduced by using auxiliary fields, as suggested by Okano. In this work, we implement the background field method, using the normal coordinate expansion, for the nonlinear sigma model on a general Riemannian manifold in the context of stochastic quantization. We also calculate, making use of this novel formulation, the action necessary for investigation of the divergences, at least at the one-loop level.     

Renormalization of non-semisimple gauge models with the background field method

We study the renormalization of non-semisimple gauge models quantized in the 't Hooft-background gauge to all orders. We analyze the normalization conditions for masses and couplings compatible with the Slavnov-Taylor and Ward-Takahashi Identities and with the IR constraints. We take into account both the problem of renormalization of CKM matrix elements and the problem of CP violation and we show that the Background Field Method (BFM) provides proper normalization conditions for fermion, scalar and gauge field mixings. We discuss the hard and the soft anomalies of the Slavnov-Taylor Identities and the conditions under which they are absent.     

Two-loop background field calculations for arbitrary background fields

The ultraviolet divergences of two-loop vacuum graphs in the presence of an arbitrary background field are determined for four-dimensional φ⁴ and gauge theories on flat space. Dimensional regularisation is employed and the heat kernel is used to analyse the short-distance singularities in the products of propagators, in the presence of the background field, that occur for two-loop graphs. The single and double poles in ? = 4 ? d are determined in a concise fashion, giving known results for the β function. A procedure for determining the remaining finite parts in terms of explicit convergent integrals in four dimensions is described.     

The external field problem for QCD

In lattice gauge theory, many computations such as the strong coupling expansions, mean field theory, or the few plaquette models require the evaluation of the one-link integral in the presence of an arbitrary N × N complex matrix source (J). For SU(N) gauge theories, we express our general solution to the external field problem as an integral over the maximal abelian subgroup [U(1)]^N?1

where S₀ = 2Σ_kz_k cos(φ_k ? θ), z_j are eigenvalues of √JJ⁺, e^2iNθ=detJ/detJ⁺, and G is an appropriate jacobian determinant. Our explicit solution follows from differential Schwinger-Dyson equations cast in a separable form by using fermionic variables, and the special cases of N = 2, 3 and ∞ agree with earlier derivations.