Hamiltonian embedding of the massive Yang-Mills theory and the generalized Stückelberg formalism

Abstract

Using the general notions of Batalin, Fradkin, Fradkina and Tyutin to convert second class systems into first class ones, we present a gauge invariant formulation of the massive Yang-Mills theory by embedding it in an extended phase space. The infinite set of correction terms necessary for obtaining the involutive constraints and Hamiltonian is explicitly computed and expressed in a closed form. It is also shown that the extra fields introduced in the correction terms are exactly identified with the auxiliary scalars used in the generalized Stückelberg formalism for converting a gauge noninvariant Lagrangian into a gauge invariant form.

31 pages, Latex, very minor changes, a concluding paragraph inserted, version to appear in Nucl. Phys. B