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Parent Field Theory and Unfolding in BRST First-Quantized Terms

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Abstract

For free-field theories associated with BRST first-quantized gauge systems, we identify generalized auxiliary fields and pure gauge variables already at the first-quantized level as the fields associated with algebraically contractible pairs for the BRST operator. Locality of the field theory is taken into account by separating the space–time degrees of freedom from the internal ones. A standard extension of the first-quantized system, originally developed to study quantization on curved manifolds, is used here for the construction of a first-order parent field theory that has a remarkable property: by elimination of generalized auxiliary fields, it can be reduced both to the field theory corresponding to the original system and to its unfolded formulation. As an application, we consider the free higher-spin gauge theories of Fronsdal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physique Théorique et Mathématique and International Solvay Institutes, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Campus Plaine C.P. 231, 1050, Bruxelles, Belgium

    G. Barnich & M. Grigoriev

  2. Tamm Theory Department, Lebedev Physics Institute, Leninsky prospect 53, 119991, Moscow, Russia

    M. Grigoriev, A. Semikhatov & I. Tipunin

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  1. G. Barnich
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  2. M. Grigoriev
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  3. A. Semikhatov
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  4. I. Tipunin
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Correspondence to G. Barnich.

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Communicated by M.R. Douglas

Senior Research Associate of the National Fund for Scientific Research (Belgium).

Postdoctoral Visitor of the National Fund for Scientific Research (Belgium).

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Barnich, G., Grigoriev, M., Semikhatov, A. et al. Parent Field Theory and Unfolding in BRST First-Quantized Terms. Commun. Math. Phys. 260, 147–181 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00220-005-1408-4

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