Validity of Gauge-Fixing Conditions and the Structure of Propagators in Open Superstring Field Theory

Abstract

We make a detailed analysis on validity of gauge-fixing conditions and the structure of propagators in the Wess-Zumino-Witten-type open superstring field theory. First, we generalize the gauge-fixing conditions considered in JHEP 03 (2012) 030 [arXiv:1201.1761] by the present author et al., and propose a large class of conditions characterized by zero modes of world-sheet oscillators. Then we demonstrate its validity: we prove that gauge degrees of freedom allow us to impose the conditions, and that the conditions fix the gauges completely. Moreover, we elucidate how the information about the gauge choices is reflected in the structure of propagators. The results can be readily extended to the case in which gauge-fixing conditions involve linear combinations of the world-sheet oscillators, including nonzero modes. We investigate also such extended gauges, which are the counterpart of linear $b$-gauges in bosonic string field theory, and obtain the corresponding propagators.

LaTeX2e, 79 pages, 2 figures; v2: 80 pages, typos corrected, minor changes; v3: Footnotes 15 and 16, and a few sentences have been added in order to clarify the argument. typos corrected, published in JHEP; v4: typos in equation (6.76) corrected