Wallace, David (2024) Gauge Invariance Through Gauge Fixing. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Phenomena in gauge theory are often described in the physics literature via a specific choice of gauge. In foundational and philosophical discussions this is often criticized as introducing gauge dependence, and contrasted against (often aspirational) ``gauge-invariant'' descriptions of the physics. I argue, largely in the context of scalar electrodynamics, that this is misguided, and that descriptions of a physical process within a specific gauge are in fact gauge-invariant descriptions. However, most of them are non-local descriptions of that physics, and I suggest that this ought to be the real objection to such descriptions. I explore the unitary gauge as the exception to this nonlocality and consider its strengths and limitations, as well as (more briefly) its extension beyond scalar electrodynamics.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Wallace, David
Keywords:	gauge theory gauge equivalence
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Astrophysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Field Theory Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances
Depositing User:	Professor David Wallace
Date Deposited:	26 Apr 2024 22:41
Last Modified:	26 Apr 2024 22:41
Item ID:	23314
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Astrophysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Field Theory Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances
Date:	April 2024
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/23314

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