S. L. Lyakhovich

Lagrange structure and quantization

A path-integral quantization method is proposed for dynamical systems whose clas- sical equations of motion do not necessarily follow from the action principle. The key new notion behind this quantization scheme is the Lagrange structure which is more general than the La- grangian formalism in the same sense as Poisson geometry is more general than the symplectic one. The Lagrange structure is shown to admit a natural BRST description which is used to construct an AKSZ-type topological sigma-model. The dynamics of this sigma-model in d + 1 dimensions, being localized on the boundary, are proved to be equivalent to the original theory in d dimensions. As the topological sigma-model has a well defined action, it is path-integral quan- tized in the usual way that results in quantization of the original (not necessarily Lagrangian) theory. When the original equations of motion come from the action principle, the standard BV path-integral is explicitly deduced from the proposed quantization scheme. The general quanti- zation scheme is exemplified by several models including the ones whose classical dynamics are not variational.

Poisson geometry of sigma models with extended supersymmetry

Abstract We consider a general N =(2,2) non-linear sigma model with a torsion. We show that the consistency of N =(2,2) supersymmetry implies that the target manifold is necessary equipped with two (in general, different) Poisson structures. Finally we argue that the Poisson geometry of the target space is a characteristic feature of the sigma models with extended supersymmetry.

BRST theory without Hamiltonian and Lagrangian

We consider a generic gauge system, whose physical degrees of freedom are obtained by restriction on a constraint surface followed by factorization with respect to the action of gauge transformations; in so doing, no Hamiltonian structure or action principle is supposed to exist. For such a generic gauge system we construct a consistent BRST formulation, which includes the conventional BV Lagrangian and BFV Hamiltonian schemes as particular cases. If the original manifold carries a weak Poisson structure (a bivector field giving rise to a Poisson bracket on the space of physical observables) the generic gauge system is shown to admit deformation quantization by means of the Kontsevich formality theorem. A sigma-model interpretation of this quantization algorithm is briefly discussed.

Radiation reaction and renormalization in classical electrodynamics of a point particle in any dimension

The effective equations of motion for a point charged particle taking account of radiation reaction are considered in various space-time dimensions. The divergencies steaming from the pointness of the particle are studied and the effective renormalization procedure is proposed encompassing uniformly the cases of all even dimensions. It is shown that in any dimension the classical electrodynamics is a renormalizable theory if not multiplicatively beyond d=4. For the cases of three and six dimensions the covariant analogs of the Lorentz-Dirac equation are explicitly derived.

A GEOMETRIC MODEL OF THE ARBITRARY SPIN MASSIVE PARTICLE

A new model of the relativistic massive particle with arbitrary spin [the (m, s) particle] is suggested. The configuration space of the model is the product of Minkowski space and a two-dimensional sphere: ℳ6=ℝ3, 1×S2. The system describes Zitterbevegung at the classical level. Together with explicitly realized Poincare symmetry, the action functional turns out to be invariant under two types of gauge transformations having their origin in the presence of two Abelian first class constraints in the Hamilton formalism. These constraints correspond to strong conservation for the phase space counterparts of the Casimir operators of the Poincare group. Canonical quantization of the model leads to equations on the wave functions which prove to be equivalent to the relativistic wave equations for the massive spin s field.

Classical and quantum stability of higher-derivative dynamics

We observe that a wide class of higher-derivative systems admits a bounded integral of motion that ensures the classical stability of dynamics, while the canonical energy is unbounded. We use the concept of a Lagrange anchor to demonstrate that the bounded integral of motion is connected with the time-translation invariance. A procedure is suggested for switching on interactions in free higher-derivative systems without breaking their stability. We also demonstrate the quantization technique that keeps the higher-derivative dynamics stable at quantum level. The general construction is illustrated by the examples of the Pais–Uhlenbeck oscillator, higher-derivative scalar field model, and the Podolsky electrodynamics. For all these models, the positive integrals of motion are explicitly constructed and the interactions are included such that they keep the system stable.

Star Product for Second-Class Constraint Systems from a BRST Theory

We propose an explicit construction of the deformation quantization of a general second-class constraint system that is covariant with respect to local coordinates on the phase space. The approach is based on constructing the effective first-class constraint (gauge) system equivalent to the original second-class constraint system and can also be understood as a far-reaching generalization of the Fedosov quantization. The effective gauge system is quantized by the BFV–BRST procedure. The star product for the Dirac bracket is explicitly constructed as the quantum multiplication of BRST observables. We introduce and explicitly construct a Dirac bracket counterpart of the symplectic connection, called the Dirac connection. We identify a particular star product associated with the Dirac connection for which the constraints are in the center of the respective star-commutator algebra. It is shown that when reduced to the constraint surface, this star product is a Fedosov star product on the constraint surface considered as a symplectic manifold.

Rigid symmetries and conservation laws in non-Lagrangian field theory

Making use of the Lagrange anchor construction introduced earlier to quantize non-Lagrangian field theories, we extend the Noether theorem beyond the class of variational dynamics.

Quantizing non-Lagrangian gauge theories: an augmentation method

We discuss a recently proposed method of quantizing general non-Lagrangian gauge theories. The method can be implemented in many different ways, in particular, it can employ a conversion procedure that turns an original non-Lagrangian field theory in d dimensions into an equivalent Lagrangian, topological field theory in d+1 dimensions. The method involves, besides the classical equations of motion, one more geometric ingredient called the Lagrange anchor. Different Lagrange anchors result in different quantizations of one and the same classical theory. Given the classical equations of motion and Lagrange anchor as input data, a new procedure, called the augmentation, is proposed to quantize non-Lagrangian dynamics. Within the augmentation procedure, the originally non-Lagrangian theory is absorbed by a wider Lagrangian theory on the same space-time manifold. The augmented theory is not generally equivalent to the original one as it has more physical degrees of freedom than the original theory. However, the extra degrees of freedom are factorized out in a certain regular way both at classical and quantum levels. The general techniques are exemplified by quantizing two non-Lagrangian models of physical interest.

Schwinger-Dyson equation for non-Lagrangian field theory

A method is proposed of constructing quantum correlators for a general gauge system whose classical equations of motion do not necessarily follow from the least action principle. The idea of the method is in assigning a certain BRST operator