A superfield formalism of osp\((1,2)\) covariant quantization (Q1873848)

The main ingredient of covariant quantization is the concept of generating equations for the quantum action, expressed in terms of the corresponding generating operators and antibrackets. The general approach to covariant quantization is based on BRST symmetry which is a global supersymmetry of the integrand in the vacuum functional. The Sp(2) covariant quantization realized the extended BRST symmetry for arbitrary gauge theories. This quantization scheme allows one to describe the structure of the complete configuration space of a gauge theory in terms of irreducible representations of the group Sp(2). A superfield form of the Sp(2) covariant scheme was discovered by P. M. Lavrov which provides a superfield description of extended BRST symmetry for arbitrary gauge theory; this formalism allows one to combine the entire set of variables. In 1998, B. Geyer proposed an \(\text{osp}(1,2)\) covariant scheme for general gauge theories in order to modify the Sp(2) covariant formalism in a way allowing one to ensure the symplectic invariance of the theory. Later, B. Geyer and D. Mülsch proposed a superfield description of the \(\text{osp}(1,2)\) covariant quantization, where the superalgebra \(\text{osp}(1,2)\) is considered as a subalgebra of the superalgebra \(\text{sl}(1,2)\) which can be regarded as the algebra of conformal generators in a superspace with two anticommuting coordinates. In a recent paper [Teor. Mat. Fiz. 129, 403-414 (2001)] the authors of the present article demonstrated that the algebraic compatibility of the extended antibrackets with the symmetry generators is not sufficient for a consistent superfield quantization. In this paper they propose a superfield approach to \(\text{osp}(1,2)\) covariant quantization by means of extending the set of admissibility conditions for the quantum action on a manifestly superfield basis. This allows one to set up a superfield formalism which reproduces the original \(\text{osp}(1,2)\) covariant scheme as a particular case of gauge-fixing.