Few exact results on gauge symmetry factorizability on intervals

Abstract

We study the gauge symmetry factorizability by boundary conditions on intervals of any dimensions. With Dirichlet-Neumann BCs, the Kaluza-Klein decomposition in five-dimension for arbitrary gauge group can always be factorized into that for separate subsets of at most two gauge symmetries, and so is completely solvable. Accordingly, we formulate a limit theorem on gauge symmetry factorizability on intervals to recapitulate this remarkable feature of five-dimension case. In higher-dimensional space-time, an interesting chained mixing of gauge symmetries by Dirichlet-Neumann BCs is explicitly constructed. The systematic decomposition picture obtained in this work constitutes the initial step towards determining the general symmetry breaking scheme by boundary conditions.

34 pages, V3 considerable extension: gauge symmetry factorizability in arbitrary dimensions presented, statements on symmetry breakings softened. Dedicated to the memory of Prof. Henri van Regemorter