| Speaker: | Yi Zhang (Kavli IPMU) |
|---|---|
| Title: | Geometrization of BV quantisation of gerbe connection, higher Russian formula and anomalies |
| Date (JST): | Thu, Apr 30, 2026, 15:30 - 17:00 |
| Place: | Seminar Room B |
| Abstract: |
Classical gauge fields for ordinary or 0-form symmetries are described by connections on principal G-bundles. Recent work shows that their BRST quantization admits a natural geometric formulation in terms of the Atiyah Lie algebroid associated with the same bundle. From this perspective the distinction between covariant and consistent anomalies acquires a clear geometric meaning and both are naturally incorporated into the cohomology of the Atiyah algebroid. Background gauge fields for 1-form symmetries are equally important in modern physics but are described not by ordinary bundles but by gerbes with connection. This raises the question of whether the geometric picture familiar from 0-form symmetries extends to this higher setting. The answer is more subtle: a gerbe connection is locally a 2-form and its quantization necessarily involves the BV formalism reflecting the presence of ghost-for-ghost degrees of freedom.In this talk I will first review the geometric description of ordinary gauge fields and their BRST quantization and then explain how this framework can be generalized to the case of 1-form symmetries. |
