Nonrenormalization theorems for N=2 Super Yang-Mills

The BRST algebraic proofs of the the nonrenormalization theorems for the beta functions of N=2 and N=4 Super Yang-Mills theories are reviewed.Comment: 3 pages, contribution to SUSY 2000 Encyclopedi

Study of the Gribov region in Euclidean Yang-Mills theories in the maximal Abelian gauge

The properties of the Gribov region in SU(2) Euclidean Yang-Mills theories in the maximal Abelian gauge are investigated. This region turns out to be bounded in all off-diagonal directions, while it is unbounded along the diagonal one. The soft breaking of the BRST invariance due to the restriction of the domain of integration in the path integral to the Gribov region is scrutinized. Owing to the unboundedness in the diagonal direction, the invariance with respect to Abelian transformations is preserved, a property which is at the origin of the local U(1) Ward identity of the maximal Abelian gauge.Comment: 15 pages, one reference added, version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

The action of N=4 Super Yang-Mills from a chiral primary operator

Using the Vafa-Witten twisted version of N=4 Super Yang-Mills a subset of the supercharges actually relevant for the nonrenormalization properties of the theory is identified. In particular, a relationship between the gauge-fixed action and the chiral primary operator tr(\phi)^2 is worked out. This result can be understood as an off-shell extension of the reduction formula introduced by Intriligator.Comment: 1+15 pages, LaTeX2e, one reference changed, a footnote adde

The gluon and ghost propagators in Euclidean Yang-Mills theory in the maximal Abelian gauge: taking into account the effects of the Gribov copies and of the dimension two condensates

The infrared behavior of the gluon and ghost propagators is studied in SU(2) Euclidean Yang-Mills theory in the maximal Abelian gauge within the Gribov-Zwanziger framework. The nonperturbative effects associated with the Gribov copies and with the dimension two condensates are simultaneously encoded into a local and renormalizable Lagrangian. The resulting behavior turns out to be in good agreement with the lattice data.Comment: final version, to appear in Physical Review

An Algebraic Criterion for the Ultraviolet Finiteness of Quantum Field Theories

An algebraic criterion for the vanishing of the beta function for renormalizable quantum field theories is presented. Use is made of the descent equations following from the Wess-Zumino consistency condition. In some cases, these equations relate the fully quantized action to a local gauge invariant polynomial. The vanishing of the anomalous dimension of this polynomial enables us to establish a nonrenormalization theorem for the beta function $\beta_g$, stating that if the one-loop order contribution vanishes, then $\beta_g$ will vanish to all orders of perturbation theory. As a by-product, the special case in which $\beta_g$ is only of one-loop order, without further corrections, is also covered. The examples of the N=2,4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories are worked out in detail.Comment: 1+32 pages, LaTeX2e, typos correcte

A BRST Characterization of the Broken Phase Observables of the Confining Complex Theory

Some time ago we have introduced a route to provide confinement in the sense that particle excitations would appear from condensates of fields that do not have physical asymptotic states. We envisaged this mechanism in an asymmetric vacuum phase of a complex gauge field theory. More recently, we showed how to define a BRST operator to the broken phase of a generic spontaneous broken field theory. Our intention here is to apply these late concepts to the previous complex field theory in order to give a cohomological characterization of those condensed states as actual physical observables of this theory in its broken phase.Comment: 2 figures, 12 page

Ghost Condensates and Dynamical Breaking of SL(2,R) in Yang-Mills in the Maximal Abelian Gauge

Ghost condensates of dimension two in SU(N) Yang-Mills theory quantized in the Maximal Abelian Gauge are discussed. These condensates turn out to be related to the dynamical breaking of the SL(2,R) symmetry present in this gaugeComment: 16 pages, LaTeX2e, final version to appear in J. Phys.