PIRSA:20030116

The quasi-local degrees of freedom of Yang-Mills theory

APA

Riello, A. (2020). The quasi-local degrees of freedom of Yang-Mills theory. Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. https://pirsa.org/20030116

MLA

Riello, Aldo. The quasi-local degrees of freedom of Yang-Mills theory. Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Mar. 26, 2020, https://pirsa.org/20030116

BibTex

          @misc{ scivideos_PIRSA:20030116,
            doi = {10.48660/20030116},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/20030116},
            author = {Riello, Aldo},
            keywords = {Quantum Gravity},
            language = {en},
            title = {The quasi-local degrees of freedom of Yang-Mills theory},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics},
            year = {2020},
            month = {mar},
            note = {PIRSA:20030116 see, \url{https://scivideos.org/index.php/pirsa/20030116}}
          }
          

Aldo Riello Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics

Talk numberPIRSA:20030116
Source RepositoryPIRSA
Collection

Abstract

Gauge theories possess nonlocal features that, in the presence of boundaries, inevitably lead to subtleties. In particular their fundamental degrees of freedom are not point-like. This leads to a non-trivial cutting (C) and sewing (S) problem: 
(C) Which gauge invariant degrees of freedom are associated to a region with boundaries? 
(S) Do the gauge invariant degrees of freedom in two complementary regions R and R’ unambiguously comprise *all* the gauge-invariant degrees of freedom in M = R ∪ R’ ? Or, do new “boundary degrees of freedom” need to be introduced at the interface S = R ∩ R’ ?
In this talk, I will address and answer these questions in the context of Yang-Mills theory. The analysis is carried out at the level of the symplectic structure of the theory, i.e. for linear perturbations over arbitrary backgrounds. I will also discuss how the ensuing results translate into a quasilocal derivation of the superselection of the electric flux through the boundary of a region, and into a novel gluing formula which constructively proves that no ambiguity exists in the gluing of regional gauge-fixed configurations.
Time allowing I will also address how the formalism generalizes the “Dirac dressing” of charged matter fields, and how, in the presence of matter, quasi-local “global” charges (as opposed to gauge charges) emerge at special (i.e. reducible) configurations.

This talk is based on arXiv:1910.04222, with H. Gomes (U. of Cambridge, UK).
See also arXiv:1808.02074, with H. Gomes and F. Hopfmüller (Perimeter)