Anomalies and gauge symmetry

Abstract

Anomalies are known to have an intrinsic geometrical meaning. Using a formalism where the gauge condition is never made explicit we reanalyze the gauge theory anomaly problem. By requiring simultaneously the BRS and anti-BRS invariances, we do not need to use in our study the gauge dependent anti-ghost equation of motion. Then all equations definining the anomaly are independent of all parameters specifying the lagrangian. Not only does this stress explicitly the geometrical nature of the anomaly problem, but it allows for a single analysis for all possible BRS and anti-BRS invariant gauges, including those with four-ghost interactions. Our method for solving the anomaly equations is as a new sign of the relevance of the formalism in which the ghost components are unified with those of the classical gauge field, the ghost fields playing the role of a “connection” along unphysical directions. We recover the ABJ anomaly directly from the structure of BRS equations, as a straightforward application of the Chern-Weil theorem in some enlarged space. The method can be formally extended to higher space-time dimensions, and a general formula for “anomalies” in any even dimension is given.