Detours and paths: BRST complexes and worldline formalism

2009/02/28 by Fiorenzo Bastianelli, F. Bastianelli, Olindo Corradini +3 · 1 citation
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Algebraic structures and combinatorial models #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Nonlinear Waves and Solitons #hep-th

paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1126-6708/2009/05/017

published as JHEP 0905:017,2009 · 1+35 pages, 1 figure; typos corrected and references added, published version

arxiv created 2009/05/01 · openalex publication_date 2009/05/06 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

We construct detour complexes from the BRST quantization of worldline diffeomorphism invariant systems. This yields a method to efficiently extract physical quantum field theories from particle models with first class constraint algebras. As an example, we show how to obtain the Maxwell detour complex by gauging N=2 supersymmetric quantum mechanics in curved space. Then we concentrate on first class algebras belonging to a class of recently introduced orthosymplectic quantum mechanical models and give generating functions for detour complexes describing higher spins of arbitrary symmetry types. The first quantized approach facilitates quantum calculations and we employ it to compute the number of physical degrees of freedom associated to the second quantized, field theoretical actions.

Citations

• Particle spin dynamics as the grassmann variant of classical mechanics
• Nonlinear higher spin theories in various dimensions
• Tensor Gauge Fields in Arbitrary Representations of GL(D, ℝ) : II. Quadratic Actions
• The Symmetric Tensor Lichnerowicz Algebra and a Novel Associative Fourier-Jacobi Algebra
• On Massive Mixed Symmetry Tensor Fields in Minkowski Space and (A)dS
• Conformally invariant operators, differential forms, cohomology and a generalisation of Q-curvature

Cited by

• Effective action for higher spin fields on (A)dS backgrounds

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