Abstract
When the electroweak action is rewritten in terms of SU(2) gauge-invariant variables, the Higgs can be interpreted as a conformal metric factor. We show that asymptotic flatness of the metric is required to avoid a Gribov problem: without it, the new variables fail to be nonperturbatively gauge invariant. We also clarify the relations between this approach and unitary gauge fixing, and the existence of similar transformations in other gauge theories.
DOI
10.1088/1751-8113/43/31/312002
Publication Date
2010-08-06
Publication Title
Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical
Volume
43
Issue
31
ISSN
1751-8113
Organisational Unit
School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics
Recommended Citation
Ilderton, A., Lavelle, M., & McMullan, D. (2010) 'Symmetry breaking, conformal geometry and gauge invariance', Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical, 43(31). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1088/1751-8113/43/31/312002
