A novel mass generation scheme for an Abelian vector field

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new method for giving mass to Abelian vector fields using gauge theories and antifield-BRST deformation, offering an alternative to the Higgs mechanism with explicit examples.

Contribution

It presents a novel mass generation scheme for Abelian vector fields based on gauge theory deformations, distinct from the Higgs mechanism.

Findings

The method successfully generates mass for Abelian vector fields.

Explicit models with one, two, and three scalars demonstrate the approach.

The approach relates to and differs from the Higgs mechanism.

Abstract

A novel mass generation procedure for an Abelian vector field is proposed. This procedure is based on the construction of a class of gauge theories whose free limit describes a free massless vector field and a set of massless real scalar fields by means of the antifield-BRST deformation technique. The relationship between our results and those arising from the Higgs mechanism based on the spontaneous symmetry breaking of an Abelian gauge symmetry is emphasized. Some examples with one, two, and three scalars are given.