Geometric BRST quantization. I: Prequantization (Q803614)

The problem of defining formally the procedure of BRST quantization, which has become the preferred method to quantize gauge systems, is considered. In defining the BRST quantization it seems natural to exploit the symplectic nature of classical BRST. Therefore authors focus their attention in the method of geometric quantization. It consists of two steps: prequantization and polarization. In this paper the prequantization is discussed. It is shown that the prequantization is intimately related to the notion of a Poisson module. A prequantum BRST operator is defined and its cohomology is analyzed. The main result of the paper consists of the commutativity of the prequantization and the symplectic reduction in general.