Abelian 3-form gauge theory: superfield approach

TL;DR

This paper develops a superfield approach to D-dimensional Abelian 3-form gauge theory, deriving BRST symmetries and highlighting the role of Curci-Ferrari restrictions, thus advancing the understanding of p-form gauge theories.

Contribution

It introduces a superfield formalism for Abelian 3-form gauge theory and establishes the significance of CF restrictions in BRST symmetry for p-form theories.

Findings

Derived off-shell nilpotent BRST and anti-BRST transformations.

Established the role of CF restrictions as a hallmark of p-form gauge theories.

Extended the formalism to D-dimensional Abelian 3-form gauge theory.

Abstract

We discuss a D-dimensional Abelian 3-form gauge theory within the framework of Bonora-Tonin's superfield formalism and derive the off-shell nilpotent and absolutely anticommuting Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) and anti-BRST symmetry transformations for this theory. To pay our homage to Victor I. Ogievetsky (1928-1996), who was one of the inventors of Abelian 2-form (antisymmetric tensor) gauge field, we go a step further and discuss the above D-dimensional Abelian 3-form gauge theory within the framework of BRST formalism and establish that the existence of the (anti-)BRST invariant Curci-Ferrari (CF) type of restrictions is the hallmark of any arbitrary p-form gauge theory (discussed within the framework of BRST formalism).