An Analysis of the First Order Form of Gauge Theories

Abstract

The first order form of a Maxwell theory and U(1) gauge theory in which a gauge invariant mass term appears is analyzed using the Dirac procedure. The form of the gauge transformation which leaves the action invariant is derived from the constraints present. A non-Abelian generalization is similarly analyzed. This first order three dimensional massive gauge theory is rewritten in terms of two interacting vector fields. The constraint structure when using light-cone coordinates is considered. The relationship between first and second order forms of the two-dimensional Einstein-Hilbert action is explored where a Lagrange multiplier is used to ensure their equivalence.

22 pages, to appear in Canadian Journal of Physics. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:hep-th/0609220

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Cited by in corpus (5)

• A Lagrangian constraint analysis of first order classical field theories with an application to gravity
• Pregeometric First Order Yang-Mills Theory
• Consistent first order action functional for gauge theories
• Canonical aspects of pregeometric vector-based first order gauge theory
• Matter coupling to degenerate spacetimes in first order gravity