Summary: SU­4238­446
10/90
Topological Mass Generation in 3+1 Dimensions
Theodore J. Allen, Mark J. Bowick and Amitabha Lahiri +
Department of Physics
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY 13244­1130
Abstract
The four­dimensional theory of a 1­form abelian gauge field A coupled to a 2­form
(antisymmetric tensor) potential B is studied. The two gauge invariances of the theory
admit a coupling mB#F where F is the field strength (F = dA) of A. It is shown that this
theory is a unitary, renormalizable theory of a massive spin­one field with no additional
degrees of freedom. In this sense it is a generalization to four dimensions of topological
mechanisms in two dimensions (the Schwinger model) and three dimensions (Chern­Simons
theory). The issue of spontaneous symmetry breaking is also examined.
+ Email Addresses : tjallen, bowick and lahiri@suhep.phy.syr.edu

1. Introduction
Although gauge­invariance is usually associated with masslessness of the correspond­
ing gauge field there are several mechanisms known for generating massive gauge fields

Source: Allen, Theodore J. - Physics Department, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Collections: Physics