Physics – High Energy Physics – High Energy Physics - Theory
Scientific paper
1994-07-22
Physics
High Energy Physics
High Energy Physics - Theory
uuencoded compressed .ps file, 45 pages, QMW-PH-94-17. (a few more typographical errors, notational inconsistencies, and the e
Scientific paper
We re-examine the problem of gauging the Wess-Zumino term of a d-dimensional bosonic sigma-model. We phrase this problem in terms of the equivariant cohomology of the target space and this allows for the homological analysis of the obstruction. As a check, we recover the obstructions of Hull and Spence and also a generalization of the topological terms found by Hull, Rocek and de Wit. When the symmetry group is compact, we use topological tools to derive vanishing theorems which guarantee the absence of obstructions for low dimension (d<=4) but for a variety of target manifolds. For example, any compact semisimple Lie group can be gauged in a three-dimensional sigma-model with simply connected target space. When the symmetry group is semisimple but not necessarily compact, we argue in favor of the persistence of these vanishing theorems by making use of (conjectural) equivariant minimal models (in the sense of Sullivan). By way of persuasion, we construct by hand a few such equivariant minimal models, which may be of independent interest. We illustrate our results with two examples: d=1 with a symplectic target space, and d=2 with target space a Lie group admitting a bi-invariant metric. An alternative homological interpretation of the obstruction is obtained by a closer study of the Noether method. This method displays the obstruction as a class in BRST cohomology at ghost number 1. We comment on the relationship with consistent anomalies.
Figueroa-O'Farrill Jose M.
Stanciu Sonia
No associations
LandOfFree
Equivariant Cohomology and Gauged Bosonic sigma-Models does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Equivariant Cohomology and Gauged Bosonic sigma-Models, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Equivariant Cohomology and Gauged Bosonic sigma-Models will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-458508