Bv Gauge Theories

TL;DR

This paper generalizes Yang-Mills gauge transformations to include antisymmetric tensor fields using the Non-Abelian Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism, recovering known transformations and deriving new characteristic classes with gauge-invariant couplings.

Contribution

It introduces a unified framework for gauge transformations involving two-form fields and matter, extending Yang-Mills theories with new characteristic classes.

Findings

Recovered Freedman-Townsend transformation for two-form gauge fields

Derived new characteristic classes involving two-form and one-form fields

Unified gauge-invariant couplings to matter fields

Abstract

Using the Non-Abelian Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism introduced recently, we present a generalization of the Yang-Mills gauge transformations , to include antisymmetric tensor fields as gauge bosons. The Freedman-Townsend transformation for the two-form gauge field is automatically recovered. New characteristic classes involving this two-form field and the Yang-Mills one-form field are derived. We also show how to include, in an unified way, a gauge invariant coupling of the new gauge bosons to fermionic and bosonic matter.