BRST Cohomology of the Chapline–Manton Model

We completely compute the local BRST cohomology H(s|d) of the combined Yang–Mills 2-form system coupled through the Yang–Mills Chern–Simons term (Chapline–Manton model). We consider the case of a simple gauge group and explicitly include in the analysis the sources for the BRST variations of the fields (antifields). We show that there is an antifield independent representative in each cohomological class of H(s|d) at ghost number 0 or 1. Accordingly, any counterterm may be assumed to preserve the gauge symmetries. Similarly, there is no new candidate anomaly beside those already considered in the literature, even when one takes the antifields into account. We then characterize explicitly all the nontrivial solutions of the Wess–Zumino consistency conditions. In particular, we provide a cohomological interpretation of the Green–Schwarz anomaly cancellation mechanism.