PHYSICAL REVIEW D 110, 065022 (2024)

Yang-Mills theory from the worldline

*
Roberto Bonezzi
Institute for Physics, Humboldt University Berlin, Zum Großen Windkanal 6, D-12489 Berlin, Germany

(Received 29 August 2024; accepted 3 September 2024; published 25 September 2024)

We construct off-shell vertex operators for the bosonic spinning particle. Using the language of homotopy
algebras, we show that the full nonlinear structure of Yang-Mills theory, including its gauge transformations, is
encoded in the commutator algebra of the worldline vertex operators. To do so, we deform the worldline
Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) operator by coupling it to a background gauge field and show that the
coupling is consistent on a suitable truncation of the Hilbert space. On this subspace, the square of the BRST
operator is proportional to the Yang-Mills field equations, which we interpret as an operator Maurer-Cartan
equation for the background. This allows us to define further vertex operators in different ghost numbers,
which correspond to the entire L∞ algebra of Yang-Mills theory. Besides providing a precise map of a fully
nonlinear field theory into a worldline model, we expect these results will be valuable to investigate the
kinematic algebra of Yang-Mills theory, which is central to the double copy program.

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.110.065022

I. INTRODUCTION have been applied to address the double copy [17–19] and
have found new applications in the context of gravitational
The first-quantized description of quantum field theory
wave physics [20,21].
observables, such as the world sheet computation of string
In this first-quantized approach, spacetime spin is generated
amplitudes, often reveals structures that are hidden in a
by adding internal degrees of freedom to the particle, in terms
more conventional field theoretic approach. Paramount
of either worldline fermions or bosons [22–27]. In order to
among these is the double copy construction of gravity
preserve unitarity, these extra degrees of freedom come
amplitudes in terms of gauge theory amplitudes. First
together with local (super)symmetries on the worldline. Upon
discovered in the context of first-quantized string theory
canonical quantization, one can encode free field equations
[1], starting from the seminal papers [2,3] by Bern et al. it
and their gauge symmetry in target space via the worldline
has flourished in a number of directions in quantum field
Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) system [28–31]
theory and is now a prominent aspect of the modern
amplitude program (see, e.g., the reviews [4–6]). Qjψi ¼ 0; δjψi ¼ QjΛi; ð1:1Þ
Similar to the world sheet approach to string theory, the
worldline formalism is a first-quantized description of where Q is the first-quantized BRST charge and spacetime
relativistic point particles. Pioneered by Feynman [7,8], fields are contained in the BRST wave function jψi. The free
it gained attention with the introduction of the Bern- graviton, for instance, can be described by a worldline with
Kosower [9,10] rules. These were originally derived from N ¼ 4 supersymmetry. Interestingly, its internal degrees of
the point particle limit of string theory and provided freedom are given by two copies of the ones of the N ¼ 2
compact master formulas for n-gluon one-loop amplitudes particle, describing a free gluon. In this respect, their BRST
in QCD. Soon after [11], Strassler showed that the Bern- quantization naturally leads to an off-shell and gauge invariant
Kosower rules follow from a genuine worldline path double copy for the free target space theories, relating the
integral on the circle. Since then, the worldline formalism Maxwell and Fierz-Pauli Lagrangians. This feature inspired a
has been extended to describe various couplings [12,13], double copy program, based on the framework of homotopy
including scalars [14], spinors [15] and p-forms [16] algebras, that has led to a gauge invariant and off-shell double
coupled to gravity. More recently, worldline techniques copy1 of Yang-Mills theory up to quartic order [40,41].
The spinning particles naturally describe free gauge
*
Contact author: roberto.bonezzi@physik.hu-berlin.de theories in spacetime, but there is no systematic procedure
to construct nonlinear theories. While it is well known that
Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of interactions of scalars and spinors with gauge fields and
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to 1
the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, For other approaches to off-shell double copy constructions
and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3. see, e.g., [32–39].

2470-0010=2024=110(6)=065022(15) 065022-1 Published by the American Physical Society

ROBERTO BONEZZI PHYS. REV. D 110, 065022 (2024)

gravitons are represented by inserting vertex operators on we are able to clarify the role of the nonlinear terms
the worldline, the self-interactions of pure Yang-Mills appearing in QA . In particular, we show how the bilinear
theory and gravity are much less understood. The first vertex operator V 2 ðA; AÞ determines the quartic coupling of
important progress in this direction was made in [42], where the theory, from which we recover the full Yang-Mills
the authors found a consistent coupling of the N ¼ 2 particle action as a worldline expectation value,
to a background Yang-Mills field. Similarly, the coupling of
the N ¼ 4 particle to background gravity was achieved in 1 1
[43], where it was shown that consistency of the worldline SYM ½A ¼ hVðAÞQVðAÞi þ hV 3 ðAÞi
2 3
quantum theory demands that the background obeys 1
Einstein’s equations. This led to identify the correct path þ hVðAÞfV 2 ðA; AÞ; VðAÞgi: ð1:3Þ
8
integral of the N ¼ 4 particle on the circle in [44], which was
used in [45,46] to reproduce the one-loop divergences of
The dictionary established in this paper, relating the L∞
Einstein gravity in four and six dimensions. The setup of [43]
algebra of Yang-Mills theory to the algebra of vertex
was generalized in [47] to include couplings to the Kalb-
operators, should serve as a valuable starting point for
Ramond two-form and dilaton. Constraints on consistent
the investigation of the off-shell kinematic algebra identi-
backgrounds from nilpotence of the BRSToperator were also
fied in [57,58], which is central to the algebraic double
studied in similar contexts in [48,49].
copy program pursued in [41,59–65].
Despite the progress in coupling the gluon and graviton to
The rest of this paper is organized as follows. In Sec. II
their respective backgrounds, the precise relation between
we review the bosonic spinning particle and its BRST
the worldline description and the nonlinear field theories
quantization, emphasizing the target space interpretation in
remains an open problem. In this paper we bridge the gap for
terms of the L∞ algebra of a free gauge theory. In Sec. III
the case of Yang-Mills theory. Specifically, we will map the
we introduce the coupling to a background gauge field by
full nonlinear structure of the field theory, including its gauge
deforming the BRST operator. We show it is nilpotent,
transformations, to the algebra of off-shell vertex operators
when the background is on-shell, upon restricting to the
acting on the BRST Hilbert space of a spinning particle.
spin one sector of the Hilbert space. We use this in Sec. IV
To this end, we first couple the bosonic spinning particle
to interpret Q2A as an operator Maurer-Cartan equation,
[27,31] to a Yang-Mills background by deforming its
BRST operator. The spacetime spectrum of the worldline from which we identify the off-shell vertex operators.
includes massless particles of all integer spins. We show Comparing the operator algebra with the L∞ relations of
that the coupling is consistent on the spin one sector of the Yang-Mills theory, we fix the dictionary between the two
Hilbert space, where the deformed BRST operator QA is and derive the action as a first-quantized expectation value.
nilpotent if the background satisfies the nonlinear Yang- We close in Sec. V with a brief outlook on future directions.
Mills equations. Rather than interpreting this as a condition
on possible backgrounds, we think of Q2A ¼ 0 itself as an II. THE BOSONIC SPINNING PARTICLE
operator equation of motion for the gauge field in QA . This AND FREE MASSLESS FIELDS
allows us to determine off-shell vertex operators, starting
In this section we will review how the quantization of the
from the expansion
bosonic spinning worldline gives rise to massless particles
of arbitrary spin in spacetime [26,27,31]. We will empha-
1
QA ¼ Q þ VðAÞ þ V 2 ðA; AÞ; ð1:2Þ size the BRST quantization of the theory and its target
2 space interpretation. In particular, at the end of the section
not only for the fields, but for gauge parameters and we will relate the worldline BRST quantization to the L∞
equations of motion as well. Throughout this analysis description of free gauge field theories in spacetime.
In order to construct the worldline action, we start from
we will use the language of homotopy Lie (or L∞ ) algebras
the following symplectic term:
[50–53], as it streamlines the nonlinear structures of gauge
theories in terms of relations between multilinear brackets. Z
We will give the necessary background material in the body Ssymp ¼ dτ½pμ ẋμ − iᾱμ α̇μ ; ð2:1Þ
of the paper. For the specific case of Yang-Mills theory, the
L∞ structure was first identified in [54] from open string
vertex operators [55]. where μ ¼ 0; …; D − 1 is a target space Lorentz index and
Having established a precise map between the Yang- ᾱμ ¼ ðαμ Þ . The phase space thus consists of the standard
Mills L∞ brackets and commutators of vertex operators,2 coordinates and momenta ðxμ ; pν Þ, augmented by the
complex bosonic pair ðαμ ; ᾱν Þ. The latter can be thought
2
In [56] the L∞ brackets were used to define a deformed of as a worldline analog of open string modes αμ1 . We now
differential. introduce the following triplet of phase space functions:

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YANG-MILLS THEORY FROM THE WORLDLINE PHYS. REV. D 110, 065022 (2024)

1 X
∞
1
H ≔ p2 ; L ≔ αμ pμ ; L̄ ≔ ᾱμ pμ ; ð2:2Þ jφi ¼ jφs i; jφs i ¼ φ ðxÞαμ1    αμs j0i; ð2:7Þ
2
s¼0
s! μ1 …μs
which form a closed algebra under Poisson brackets. H is
the Hamiltonian for τ translations, while L and L̄ mix xμ which is interpreted as a collection of spacetime symmetric
tensor fields of arbitrary rank s. On this space pμ and ᾱμ act
with αμ and ᾱμ , respectively. The functions H, L and L̄ are
analogous to the L0 and L1 Virasoro modes of the bosonic as derivative operators,
open string. In fact, they can be obtained from a contraction ∂
of the slð2; RÞ subalgebra of Virasoro in the tensionless pμ ¼ −i∂μ ; ᾱμ ¼ ημν ; ð2:8Þ
∂αν
limit α0 → ∞ [66,67].
We will interpret the states of the quantum theory as upon identifying the ket αμ1    αμs j0i with the monomial
spacetime massless particles, with spin degrees of freedom αμ1    αμs . This yields the following representation for the
associated with the oscillators αμ . To this end, one needs to quantum constraints:
gauge the Hamiltonian H to enforce the mass-shell con-
dition, as well as the “Virasoro charges” L and L̄. Gauging 1 ∂ μ
H ¼ − □; L ¼ −iαμ ∂μ ; L̄ ¼ −i ∂ ; ð2:9Þ
the latter is necessary in order to remove unphysical degrees 2 ∂αμ
of freedom associated with oscillators α in light cone
where □ ¼ ∂μ ∂μ is the wave operator. L and L̄ act on
directions. The worldline model is thus described by the
action symmetric tensors as the symmetrized gradient and diver-
gence, respectively,
Z
S ¼ dτ½pμ ẋμ − iᾱμ α̇μ − eH − ūL − uL̄; ð2:3Þ 1
iLjφs i ¼ ∂ φ αμ1    αμsþ1 j0i;
s! ðμ1 μ2 …μsþ1 Þ
which is invariant under τ reparametrizations and local 1
iL̄jφs i ¼ ∂ν φνμ2 …μs αμ2    αμs j0i: ð2:10Þ
“Virasoro transformations” generated by L and L̄, ðs − 1Þ!

δxμ ¼ ϵpμ þ ξᾱμ þ ξ̄αμ ; δpμ ¼ 0; Declaring that ðαμ Þ† ¼ ᾱμ allows us to define a bra state,
and thus an inner product, as
δαμ ¼ iξpμ ; δᾱμ ¼ −iξ̄pμ ;
1 
δu ¼ ξ̇; δū ¼ ξ̄˙ ; δe ¼ ϵ̇ þ 2iuξ̄ − 2iūξ; ð2:4Þ hφs j ¼ φ ðxÞh0jᾱμ1    ᾱμs ;
s! μ1 …μs
Z
1
with local parameters ϵðτÞ and ξðτÞ, with ξ̄ ¼ ξ . The hχ s0 jφs i ¼ 0 dD xχ μ1 …μs0 φν1 …νs
Lagrange multipliers eðτÞ and complex uðτÞ and ūðτÞ can s!s !
be viewed as a triplet of einbeins and enforce the classical h0jᾱμ1    ᾱμs0 αν1    ανs j0i
constraints H ¼ L ¼ L̄ ¼ 0. We now turn to the quantum Z
1
mechanical treatment of this constrained system, starting ¼ δss0 dD xχ μ1 …μs φμ1 …μs : ð2:11Þ
s!
from Dirac quantization.
For the x-dependent part we chose the usual quantum
A. Dirac quantization: Gauge fixed spacetime theory mechanical inner product, ensuring that p†μ ¼ pμ . This
Upon canonical quantization, the symplectic structure implies that H is self-adjoint, while L† ¼ L̄.
gives rise to the following commutation relations: We now proceed with the Dirac quantization, in which
the quantum constraints select a physical subspace of the
½xμ ; pν  ¼ iδμν ; ½ᾱμ ; αν  ¼ ημν ; ð2:5Þ Hilbert space, which we denote by Hphys. This is deter-
mined by requiring that the constraints have vanishing
yielding the quantum constraint algebra matrix elements with physical states,

½L̄; L ¼ 2H; ½H; L ¼ 0; ½H; L̄ ¼ 0; ð2:6Þ hχjðH; L; L̄Þjψi ¼ 0 ∀ χ; ψ ∈ Hphys : ð2:12Þ

where for operators we use the same symbols as for their Given that H is self-adjoint, while L† ¼ L̄, we define the
classical counterparts: H ¼ 12 p2 , L ¼ αμ pμ , L̄ ¼ ᾱμ pμ . As physical state condition by
Hilbert space we choose the tensor product of smooth
functions of xμ with power series in αμ . The latter can be jφi ∈ Hphys ↔ Hjφi ¼ 0; L̄jφi ¼ 0; ð2:13Þ
viewed as the Fock space constructed with creation
operators αμ on a vacuum state j0i annihilated by ᾱμ. A which is sufficient to ensure that (2.12) holds for L as well.
generic state thus takes the form The physical state conditions (2.13) govern the dynamics of

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ROBERTO BONEZZI PHYS. REV. D 110, 065022 (2024)

the system completely: since the Hamiltonian is itself a given a set fGi g of quantum Hamiltonian constraints
constraint, the Schrödinger equation is trivially solved by forming a Lie algebra
demanding that physical states do not depend on the
worldline parameter τ. ½Gi ; Gj  ¼ f kij Gk ; ð2:18Þ
In terms of spacetime fields of rank s the condition (2.13)
amounts to one proceeds by assigning a ghost conjugate pair to each
constraint,
□φμ1 …μs ¼ 0; ∂ν φνμ1 …μs−1 ¼ 0; ð2:14Þ

meaning that physical states are massless and transverse. Gi → ðbi ; ci Þ; fbi ; cj g ¼ δji ; ð2:19Þ
These conditions alone are not enough to remove all
unphysical polarizations. To do so one has to take into where the ci and bi have ghost number þ1 and −1,
account that the above equations are invariant under the on- respectively. One can then construct a ghost number one
shell gauge transformation BRST operator via

δφμ1 …μs ¼ s∂ðμ1 ξμ2 …μs Þ ; ð2:15Þ 1

Q ≔ ci Gi − f kij ci cj bk ; ð2:20Þ
2
with an on-shell and transverse gauge parameter:
∂ν ξνμ2 …μs−1 ¼ 0, □ξμ1 …μs−1 ¼ 0. This is precisely enough which is nilpotent thanks to the commutation relations
to remove all unphysical components. Since the tensor field (2.18) and (2.19) and Jacobi identity of the structure
φμ1 …μs is not traceless, the above equations propagate a constants f kij . On the larger BRST Hilbert space (given
reducible spectrum of massless particles.3 For fixed rank s, by tensoring the “matter” and ghost sectors), the BRST
φμ1 …μs propagates massless spin s, s − 2, s − 4 etc., down cohomology agrees with the Dirac quantization discussed
to spin one or zero. The spectrum is irreducible for s ¼ 1, in the previous section.
where the physical state conditions reduce to the Maxwell Applying this procedure to the constraint algebra (2.6),
equations in Lorenz gauge, we introduce the ghost pairs,

□Aμ ¼ 0; ∂μ Aμ ¼ 0; ð2:16Þ H → ðb; cÞ; fb; cg ¼ 1;

L → ðB; C̄Þ; fB; C̄g ¼ 1;
together with the on-shell gauge symmetry δAμ ¼ ∂μ λ,
with □λ ¼ 0. L̄ → ðB̄; CÞ; fB̄; Cg ¼ 1; ð2:21Þ
In terms of the Dirac constrained system (2.13), the on-
shell gauge symmetry (2.15) is interpreted as the appear- where ðc; C; C̄Þ have ghost number þ1 and ðb; B; B̄Þ have
ance of null states of the form ghost number −1. All ghosts are Grassmann odd and
anticommutators not displayed above vanish. The BRST
jφnull i ¼ Ljξi; Hjξi ¼ L̄jξi ¼ 0: ð2:17Þ operator is then given by

These states are physical, but have zero norm and zero Q ≔ c□ þ ðC̄αμ þ Cᾱμ Þ∂μ − CC̄b; Q2 ¼ 0; ð2:22Þ
overlap with any other physical state. The space of nontrivial
physical states is thus the equivalence class jφi ∼ jφi þ Ljξi,
where we identified the momentum operator with the
which reproduces the on-shell gauge symmetry discussed
spacetime derivative pμ ≡ −i∂μ .
above. The free field theory described by (2.14) and (2.15) is
(partially) gauge fixed and non-Lagrangian. In the following We now come to construct the BRST-extended Hilbert
we will obtain a gauge invariant and Lagrangian formulation space H. This is the tensor product of the Hilbert space
from BRST quantization. Hmatter associated with the ðxμ ; pμ ; αμ ; ᾱμ Þ operators with
the ghost Hilbert space Hgh . Since all ghosts are Grassmann
B. BRST quantization: Gauge invariant odd, Hgh is finite dimensional. We choose the ghost
spacetime theory vacuum j0igh to be annihilated by b, B̄ and C̄. The ghost
We will now treat the constraint algebra (2.6) in the Hilbert space is then given by acting (at most once) on this
Hamiltonian BRST framework, where physical states are vacuum with the creation operators c, C and B. Altogether,
identified as elements of the BRST cohomology. In general, denoting by j0i the full BRST vacuum we have

3 ðᾱμ ; b; B̄; C̄Þj0i ¼ 0: ð2:23Þ

We remind the reader that the physical polarizations of a
massless particle of spin s form the rank s symmetric traceless
representation of the little group SOðD − 2Þ. A generic state in H can thus be written as

065022-4
YANG-MILLS THEORY FROM THE WORLDLINE PHYS. REV. D 110, 065022 (2024)

X
∞ X
1 number zero. We thus consider the Hilbert subspace
jψi ¼ cp Cq Br jψ s;p;q;r i; 2
s¼0 p;q;r¼0 Hs ¼ ⨁ Hs;k , where k labels the ghost number. The
k¼−1
1 ðp;q;rÞ “string field” at ghost number zero is given by
jψ s;p;q;r i ¼ ψ μ …μ ðxÞαμ1    αμs j0i; ð2:24Þ
s! 1 s
jψ s i ¼ jφs i þ cBjf s−1 i þ CBjχ s−2 i; with
with the annihilation operators acting via derivatives
1
∂ ∂ ∂ ∂ jφs i ¼ φ ðxÞαμ1    αμs j0i;
ᾱμ ¼ μ ; b¼ ; B̄ ¼ ; C̄ ¼ ; ð2:25Þ s! μ1 …μs
∂α ∂c ∂C ∂B 1
jf s−1 i ¼ f ðxÞαμ1    αμs−1 j0i;
ðs − 1Þ! μ1 …μs−1
on polynomials in ðαμ ; c; C; BÞ. The inner product (2.11) is
extended to the ghost sector of H by the following 1
jχ s−2 i ¼ χ ðxÞαμ1    αμs−2 j0i; ð2:31Þ
hermiticity assignments: ðs − 2Þ! μ1 …μs−2

c† ¼ c; b† ¼ b; C† ¼ −C̄; B† ¼ −B̄; ð2:26Þ where in the first line we displayed explicitly the ghost
dependence. This triplet of fields is usually obtained in
ensuring that Q† ¼ Q. Since c and b are self-adjoint, the stringlike formulations of higher spin fields [67]. Here φs is
overlap of the vacuum with itself vanishes4 and we normal- the (reducible) spin s field, f s−1 is an auxiliary field and
ize the basic overlap to be χ s−2 can be viewed as a spin s − 2 dilaton.
The BRST closure condition Qjψ s i ¼ 0 is interpreted as
h0jcj0i ¼ 1: ð2:27Þ the field equations

The Hilbert space H can be decomposed according to □φμ1 …μs − s∂ðμ1 f μ2 …μsÞ ¼ 0;
two integer degrees. To this end, we define the ghost □χ μ1 …μs−2 − ∂ρ f ρμ1 …μs−2 ¼ 0;
number operator G and the Uð1Þ charge J via
∂ρ φρμ1 …μs−1 − ðs − 1Þ∂ðμ1 χ μ2 …μs−1 Þ − f μ1 …μs−1 ¼ 0; ð2:32Þ
G ≔ cb þ CB̄ − BC̄ ¼ N c þ N C − N B ;
which shows that the field f s−1 is auxiliary. Spacetime
J ≔ αμ ᾱμ þ CB̄ þ BC̄ ¼ N α þ N C þ N B ; ð2:28Þ
gauge symmetry is then viewed as the equivalence relation
jψ s i ∼ jψ s i þ QjΛs i, where the gauge parameter jΛs i has
where the N i count the number of the corresponding
ghost number −1 and J ¼ s,
oscillators, so that the charge J counts the total occupation
number. J and G can be diagonalized simultaneously, since
jΛs i ¼ Bjξs−1 i;
½J ; G ¼ 0, decomposing H into the double direct sum
1
jξs−1 i ¼ ξ ðxÞαμ1    αμs−1 j0i: ð2:33Þ
∞ 2 ðs − 1Þ! μ1 …μs−1
H ¼ ⨁ ⨁ Hs;k ; ð2:29Þ
s¼0 k¼−1
The resulting gauge transformations for the component
in terms of eigenstates with J ¼ s and G ¼ k. The BRST fields are given by
operator obeys
δφμ1 …μs ¼ s∂ðμ1 ξμ2 …μs Þ ; δχ μ1 …μs−2 ¼ ∂ρ ξρμ1 …μs−2 ;
½G; Q ¼ Q; ½J ; Q ¼ 0; ð2:30Þ δf μ1 …μs−1 ¼ □ξμ1 …μs−1 : ð2:34Þ
implying that it acts as a map Q∶ Hs;k → Hs;kþ1 . The
One can make contact with Dirac quantization in a two-step
BRST cohomology can thus be studied separately at any
gauge fixing: First one uses the off-shell gauge symmetry to
fixed value of s, which coincides with the maximal spin
fix f μ1 …μs−1 ¼ 0. This leaves residual gauge transforma-
being propagated. This will be instrumental for coupling
tions with a parameter obeying □ξμ1 …μs−1 ¼ 0. One further
the theory to a Yang-Mills background in the next section.
We now restrict to the subspace with J ¼ s fixed but uses the divergence of the residual parameter to fix
arbitrary and determine the BRST cohomology at ghost χ μ1 …μs−2 ¼ 0 on shell. At this point one is left with
□φμ1 …μs ¼ 0, ∂ρ φρμ1 …μs−1 ¼ 0 with residual harmonic
and transverse gauge parameter, as in the Dirac procedure.
4
One has h0j0i ¼ h0jcb þ bcj0i ¼ 0 upon using b† ¼ b and
bj0i ¼ 0. This is typical of bc systems arising from reparamet- Using the inner product on H one can derive the gauge
rization invariance, with ghost zero modes associated with invariant field equations Qjψ s i ¼ 0 from the variation of a
Killing vectors. string field theorylike action [67],

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ROBERTO BONEZZI PHYS. REV. D 110, 065022 (2024)
Z 
1 1 1 space of Noether identities N . This organization is similar (in
Ssft ½ψ s  ¼ hψ s jQjψ s i ¼ d x φμ1 …μs □φμ1 …μs
D
2 2 s! fact dual [53,68,69]) to the one of the Batalin-Vilkovisky
1 formalism in terms of ghosts, fields and antifields.
− f μ1 …μs−1 f μ1 …μs−1 Nilpotence of the differential expresses gauge invariance
ðs − 1Þ!
of the linearized field equations as B21 ðΛÞ ¼ 0, as well as
2 the Noether identities between equations as B21 ðψÞ ¼ 0.
þ f μ1 …μs−1 ð∂ · φμ1 …μs−1
ðs − 1Þ! The worldline BRST system coincides with the L∞ chain
− ðs − 1Þ∂μ1 χ μ2 …μs−1 Þ complex ðX ; B1 Þ. We can in fact identify X ¼ Hs as the
 graded vector space of the L∞ algebra for spin s, with
1 μ1 …μs−2 worldline ghost number as degree, i.e. Xk ¼ Hs;k . Since
− χ □χ μ1 …μs−2 ; ð2:35Þ
ðs − 2Þ! Q∶ Hs;k → Hs;kþ1 , and Q2 ¼ 0, we further identify the
differential with the worldline BRST operator: B1 ¼ Q.
assuming all fields to be real. The above action is In agreement with the fact that symmetric tensors have
automatically gauge invariant under δjψ s i ¼ QjΛs i, since irreducible gauge symmetries, the degree span for every
Q† ¼ Q. For s ¼ 1 the dilaton χ μ1 …μs−2 is absent and one value of s (except s ¼ 0 of course) is ½−1; þ2, yielding the
obtains chain complex
Z  
1 1
S¼ dD x Aμ □Aμ − f 2 þ f∂ · A ; ð2:36Þ
2 2 ð2:39Þ

upon renaming φμ → Aμ . Integrating out the auxiliary

scalar f one recovers the standard Maxwell action
The elements of the complex decompose according to the
Z   Z worldline ghost content as
1 μ 1 2 1
S ¼ d x A □Aμ þ ð∂ · AÞ ¼ −
D
dD xFμν Fμν :
2 2 4
Λs ¼ Bξs−1 ∈ Hs;−1 ;
ð2:37Þ
ψ s ¼ φs þ cBf s−1 þ CBχ s−2 ∈ Hs;0 ;
E s ¼ cEs þ CEs−1 þ cCBEs−2 ∈ Hs;1 ;
C. L∞ interpretation N s ¼ cCN s−1 ∈ Hs;2 ; ð2:40Þ
In this section we will interpret the BRST system
discussed above as the L∞ chain complex of the spacetime where we omitted the ket symbol and the component fields
field theory. Homotopy Lie (or L∞ ) algebras [50–52] depend only on x and α’s, with their tensor rank indicated
encode the classical structure of perturbative gauge theo- explicitly. Here ξs−1 , φs , f s−1 and χ s−2 are the gauge
ries, in a similar way Lie algebras govern infinitesimal parameter and triplet of fields introduced previously.
symmetries. An L∞ algebra consists of an integer graded Es ; Es−1 and Es−2 are the corresponding field equations,
vector space X ¼ ⨁i Xi , endowed with multilinear brack- while N s−1 is the single spin s − 1 Noether identity,
ets Bn ∶ X ⊗n → X . These brackets obey a set of quadratic corresponding to the gauge parameter ξs−1. The BRST
relations generalizing the Jacobi identity of Lie algebras. In operator Q acts on objects of different degree as follows:
the field theory context the Xi represent the spaces of gauge
parameters, fields, field equations and so on. The gener- QΛs ¼ ∂ξs−1 þ cB□ξs−1 þ CB∂ · ξs−1 ∈ Hs;0 ;
alized Jacobi identities encode order by order the inter- Qψ s ¼ cð□φs − ∂f s−1 Þ þ Cð∂ · φs − ∂χ s−2 − f s−1 Þ
actions, their consistency with gauge symmetries, etc.
To lowest order, an L∞ algebra consists of the graded þ cCBð□χ s−2 − ∂ · f s−1 Þ ∈ Hs;1 ;
vector space X together with a nilpotent differential B1 of QE s ¼ cCð□Es−1 þ ∂Es−2 − ∂ · Es Þ ∈ Hs;2 ; ð2:41Þ
degree þ1. For a Lagrangian gauge theory the graded
vector space X typically consists of four subspaces, where ∂ denotes the symmetrized gradient and ∂ · the
organized in the following chain complex: divergence.
The inner product on the Hilbert space H is interpreted
as an L∞ inner product in X . The fact that the basic overlap
ð2:38Þ requires a c ghost insertion (we remind the reader that
h0jcj0i ¼ 1) complies with the L∞ inner product having
intrinsic degree −1 in our conventions. This implies that
where X−1 is the space of gauge parameters Λ, X0 the space gauge parameters Λs in degree −1 are paired with Noether
of fields ψ, X1 the space of field equations E and X2 the identities N s in degree þ2, while fields ψ s in degree zero

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are paired with equations of motion E s in degree þ1. Using We can thus construct the associated Hilbert space Hcolor
the overlap (2.27) together with the hermiticity assignments as the Fock space of creation operators wa acting on a
(2.26) and the vacuum condition (2.23) we obtain vacuum j0icolor annihilated by w̄a. The inner product on
Hcolor is given by declaring w†a ¼ w̄a . The resulting space is
hψ s jE s i ¼ hE s jψ s i the direct sum of symmetrized products of the adjoint
Z  ∞
1 representation of g: Hcolor ¼ ⨁ Hrcolor . A generic vector is
¼ dD x φμ1 …μs Eμ1 …μs
s! r¼0
given by
1
þ f μ1 …μs−1 Eμ1 …μs−1
ðs − 1Þ! X
∞
1
 jVicolor ¼ V a1 ar wa1    war j0icolor ; ð3:3Þ
1 μ1 …μs−2 r!
− χ Eμ1 …μs−2 ; r¼0
ðs − 2Þ!
Z
1 where the tensor rank r is counted by the number operator
hΛs jN s i ¼ hN s jΛs i ¼ dD xξμ1 …μs−1 N μ1 …μs−1 ; N w ¼ wa w̄a . We can use the structure constants f ab c to
ðs − 1Þ!
define the generators of g acting on these representations as
ð2:42Þ
T a ≔ f ab c wc w̄b ⟶ ½T a ; T b  ¼ f ab c T c ; T †a ¼ −T a :
where we assumed all fields to be real. Hermiticity of the
BRST operator Q† ¼ Q coincides at this order with the L∞ ð3:4Þ
algebra being cyclic, which ensures that the corresponding
field theory admits an action principle. From now on we will restrict ourselves to the adjoint
Although the worldline theory describes particles of all representation H1color , which is the eigenspace with N w ¼ 1.
spins, our primary interest is in describing Yang-Mills The monomials jwa i ¼ wa j0icolor form a basis of H1color and
theory in first-quantized form. In the following we will thus the identity decomposes as 1 ¼ jwa ihw̄a j. The inner prod-
restrict to the s ¼ 1 sector of the theory, associated with the uct between two adjoint elements involves the metric δab as
Hilbert subspace H1 .
hUjVi ¼ U a V b hw̄a jwb i ¼ δab Ua V b : ð3:5Þ
III. SPIN ONE PARTICLE IN YANG-MILLS
BACKGROUND The standard definition of the Killing form as a trace over
the adjoint representation can be obtained upon using the
The worldline model so far is a free theory that describes identity decomposition
a single spin one particle in the s ¼ 1 sector. In order to
introduce interactions we will couple the worldline to a trðT a T b Þ ¼ hw̄c jT a T b jwc i ¼ f ac d f bd c ¼ δab : ð3:6Þ
background Yang-Mills field by deforming the BRST
operator. To this end one has to first add color degrees
of freedom to the particle, to which we turn next. B. Deformed BRST charge
Upon adding the color sector, the full Hilbert space of the
A. Color degrees of freedom
worldline theory is given by the tensor product H ⊗ Hcolor .
Our goal is to extend the worldline Hilbert space H so as Since the BRST operator Q is diagonal in spin and acts
to accommodate representations of a color Lie algebra g, trivially on Hcolor , we restrict to the spin one sector in H
which we take to be compact and semisimple. To this end, and to the adjoint representation in Hcolor , thereby working
we introduce a conjugate pair of worldline fields wa ðτÞ and on the graded vector space
w̄a ðτÞ with action [70,71]
Z X ≔ H1 ⊗ H1color ; ð3:7Þ
Scolor ¼ dτ½−iw̄a ẇa ; ð3:1Þ
with the degree given by the worldline ghost number as
discussed previously. All elements of X (corresponding to
where a; b ¼ 1; …; dim g are adjoint indices of g. We take gauge parameters, fields, etc.) are valued in the adjoint
the Killing form to be κab ¼ −δab and use δab and its representation of g. For instance, a field in degree zero can
inverse to lower and raise indices, so that we can impose the be expanded as
reality condition ðwa Þ ¼ w̄a .
Upon canonical quantization the color vectors obey the jψi ¼ ðaaμ ðxÞαμ j0i þ f a ðxÞcBj0iÞ ⊗ jwa i; ð3:8Þ
creation-annihilation algebra
where f a is the auxiliary scalar field. Here we use a lower
½w̄a ; wb  ¼ δa b : ð3:2Þ case aμ for the gluon state, as we will reserve capital Aμ

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for the background gauge field deforming the BRST where we denoted the operator corresponding to the covar-
operator. iant derivative of Fμν by
To this end, we rewrite Q as
Dμ F νρ ≔ ½Dμ ; F νρ  ¼ Dμ Faνρ T a : ð3:16Þ
Q ¼ c□ þ Sμ ∂μ − Mb;
Sμ ≔ C̄αμ þ Cᾱμ ; As one can see explicitly, the deformed BRST operator is not
nilpotent unless F μν ¼ 0. However, (3.15) is an operator
M ≔ CC̄; ð3:9Þ equation holding on the full Hilbert space H ⊗ Hcolor .
where we kept explicit the b, c ghosts and spacetime Physically, this expresses the fact that higher spin fields
derivatives of the various terms. We further introduce the do not admit minimal coupling to Yang-Mills. If we restrict
Lorentz spin generator, which rotates the αμ oscillators, QA to act on X (which, in particular, has occupation number
J ¼ 1), MSμν jX ¼ 0, since it has two annihilation operators
Sμν ≔ αμ ᾱν − αν ᾱμ ; on the right. Similarly, we can rewrite the last term in normal
ordering and restrict it to X ,
½Sμν ; Sρ  ¼ 2ηρ½ν Sμ ; ½Sμν ; Sρσ  ¼ 4η½ρ½ν Sμσ : ð3:10Þ
Sμ Sνρ jX ¼ 2ðC̄αμ þ Cᾱμ Þα½ν ᾱρ jX
The ghost vector Sμ, Lorentz generator Sμν and M all
commute with the Uð1Þ generator J and obey ¼ 2ðαμ α½ν ᾱρ C̄ þ Cα½ν ᾱρ ᾱμ þ Cημ½ν ᾱρ ÞjX
¼ 2Cημ½ν ᾱρ ; ð3:17Þ
Sμ Sν ¼ Mðημν − Sμν Þ; Sμ M ¼ MSμ ¼ 0;
½Sμν ; Q ¼ 2S½μ ∂ν : ð3:11Þ where we discarded any term with two annihilation operators
on the right, which give zero on any state in X . When
We now introduce the background gauge field and the restricting QA to X we thus find
corresponding covariant derivative as quantum mechanical
operators acting on the Hilbert space X , Q2A jX ¼ cðC̄αμ − Cᾱμ ÞDρ F ρμ : ð3:18Þ

Aμ ≔ Aaμ T a ¼ Aaμ ðxÞf ab c wc w̄b ; Dμ ≔ ∂μ þ Aμ : ð3:12Þ We see that the condition for nilpotence of QA is the field
equation for the background Aμ , which was also found in [42]
As such, the ordinary covariant derivative Dμ is produced for the case of the N ¼ 2 supersymmetric worldline. This
by the left action of Dμ on states and by its commutator on feature, which sometimes is viewed as magical in string
operators. For instance, given a gauge parameter jΛi ¼ theory, has a natural interpretation once we combine the first-
λa ðxÞBj0i ⊗ jwa i one has Dμ jΛi ¼ Dμ λa Bj0i ⊗ jwa i, quantized and field theoretic perspectives. As an aside, notice
that if we restrict to the subspace with J ¼ 0, which contains
while for an operator Λ ¼ λa ðxÞT a the covariant derivative
only a scalar field, QA is nilpotent without any condition on
is given by ½Dμ ; Λ ¼ Dμ λa T a. Taking this into account, the
the background, as expected from scalar QCD.
operator Dμ obeys

½Dμ ; Dν  ¼ F μν ; F μν ≔ ∂μ Aν − ∂ν Aμ þ ½Aμ ; Aν ; C. Spacetime interpretation

F μν ¼ Faμν T a ; Faμν ¼ ∂μ Aaν − ∂ν Aaμ þ f bc a Abμ Acν ; In order to see why QA is nilpotent only when the
background is on shell, let us consider the spacetime action
ð3:13Þ for the gluon fluctuation (3.8) in the presence of the Aμ
background,
where the bracket above is the quantum mechanical
commutator. We define the deformed BRST operator QA Z 
1 1 1
by replacing ∂μ → Dμ in (3.9) and adding a nonminimal Ssft;A ½ψ ¼ hψjQA jψi ¼ d x − Dμ aνa Dμ aaν − f a f a
D
2 2 2
coupling to F μν , 
þ f a Dμ aaμ − f bc a Fμν b c
a aμ aν ; ð3:19Þ
QA ≔ c△ þ Sμ Dμ − Mb; △ ≔ Dμ Dμ þ F μν Sμν : ð3:14Þ

For the worldline theory to be quantum mechanically where Dμ aaν ¼ ∂μ aaν þ f bc a Abμ acν and we raise and lower
consistent (which requires the decoupling of unphysical color indices with δab . The above action is invariant under
states), we demand that Q2A ¼ 0. Computing the square one the deformed gauge transformation δjψi ¼ QA jΛi if and
obtains only if Q2A ¼ 0. Gauge invariance of (3.19) ensures that the
unphysical polarizations of the gluon aμ decouple, which is
3 equivalent to the consistency of the worldline quantum
Q2A ¼ − MSμν F μν − cðSμ Dν F μν þ Dμ F νρ Sμ Sνρ Þ; ð3:15Þ
2 theory.

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To proceed further we integrate out the auxiliary field f a , Aμ with the BRST operator QA, we will show that the entire
thus obtaining nonlinear structure of Yang-Mills theory, encoded in its L∞
Z  algebra, is contained in the algebra of vertex operators
1 acting on X .
Ssft;A ½a ¼ d x − ðDμ aνa − Dν aμa ÞðDμ aaν − Dν aaμ Þ
D
4
 A. Maurer-Cartan equation and vertex operators
1
− f bc a Fμν b c
a μ ν :
a a ð3:20Þ
2 We start from the deformed BRST operator QA as
in (3.14),
This is nothing but the Yang-Mills action for Aμ ¼ Aμ þ aμ
at quadratic order in aμ . To establish the connection with QA ¼ cðDμ Dμ þ F μν Sμν Þ þ Sμ Dμ − Mb; ð4:1Þ
the field equation of Aμ , we take the full Yang-Mills action
for Aμ and expand it in powers of the fluctuation, which we view as a map that takes the gauge field Aμ and
produces an operator acting on X . Since QA is not linear in
SYM ½A ¼ SYM ½A þ S1 ½A; a þ S2 ½A; a þ Oða3 Þ; the gauge field, it defines two types of vertex operators
Z  Z upon expanding it in powers of Aμ ,

a δSYM 
S1 ½A; a ¼ d xaμ
D
¼ dD xðDμ Faμν Þaνa ;
δAa  μ A¼A 1
QA ¼ Q þ VðAÞ þ V 2 ðA; AÞ;
S2 ½A; a ¼ Ssft;A ½a; ð3:21Þ 2
VðAÞ ≔ S Aμ þ cð2Aμ ∂μ þ ð∂μ Aμ Þ þ 2ð∂μ Aν ÞSμν Þ;
μ

where Sk ½A; a contains k powers of aμ . The action SYM ½A V 2 ðA; AÞ ≔ 2cðA2 þ ½Aμ ; Aν Sμν Þ; ð4:2Þ
is clearly gauge invariant under δAaμ ¼ Dμ λa ¼ ∂μ λa þ
f bc a Abμ λc . In the background field expansion with Aμ ¼ where we recall that Aμ ¼ Aaμ T a . Here VðAÞ is the usual
Aμ þ aμ this is the same as keeping Aμ fixed and trans- linear vertex operator, while V 2 ðA; AÞ is a bilinear vertex
forming the fluctuation as whose role will become clear in the following.
In the previous section we have shown that Q2A , when
δaaμ ¼ Dμ λa þ f bc a abμ λc ¼ δ0 aaμ þ δ1 aaμ ; ð3:22Þ restricted to X , is proportional to the Yang-Mills field
equation. In the following we will always restrict the
with the subscript on the variation counting again the products of operators5 to act on X , but for notational
powers of aμ . Gauge invariance of the action (3.21) under simplicity we will omit the restriction symbol jX . Given the
(3.22) gives relations order by order in powers of aμ . The expansion (4.2), we interpret Q2A as a generalized Maurer-
zeroth order in aμ is the Noether identity for the back- Cartan equation for the vertex operators VðAÞ and
ground: Dμ Dν Faμν ≡ 0, while to linear order we obtain V 2 ðA; AÞ,

δ0 S2 ½A; a þ δ1 S1 ½A; a ¼ 0: ð3:23Þ 1 1

Q2A ¼ fQ; VðAÞg þ fVðAÞ; VðAÞg þ fQ; V 2 ðA; AÞg
2 2
This means that the quadratic action S2 ½A; a ≡ Ssft;A ½a is 1
þ fVðAÞ; V 2 ðA; AÞg: ð4:3Þ
gauge invariant under δ0 aaμ ¼ Dμ λa only if the background 2
Aμ is on shell, since then S1 ½A; a ¼ 0. On the worldline
Hilbert space the variation δ0 is given by QA jΛi, which Since Q2A ¼ cðC̄αμ − Cᾱμ ÞDρ Faρμ T a , the Maurer-Cartan
explains why Q2A ¼ 0 only if the background satisfies the equation for the vertex operators is in one-to-one corre-
field equations. spondence with the perturbative expansion of the field
This discussion should make it clear that the Hilbert equation for Aμ. Moreover, Q2A defines a linear vertex
space X together with the BRST operator QA contain operator for the field equation Eaμ ¼ Dρ Faρμ , which is
information on the full Yang-Mills action via (3.20). More mapped to the ghost number two operator
than that, it turns out that QA alone already captures the full
nonlinear structure of Yang-Mills, including gauge trans- VðEÞ ≔ cS̃μ E μ ; S̃μ ≔ C̄αμ − Cᾱμ ; E μ ¼ Eaμ T a : ð4:4Þ
formations and Noether identities, as we will establish in
the next section. Notice that by linear vertex operator we mean that VðEÞ is
linear in the equation of motion and does not contain extra
powers of the field.
IV. OFF-SHELL VERTEX OPERATORS
AND NONLINEAR THEORY
5
The restricted product remains associative, since
In this section we focus on the algebra of operators ðO1 jX O2 jX ÞjX ¼ ðO1 O2 ÞjX for operators of Uð1Þ charge zero,
acting on the Hilbert space X . Associating the gauge field which commute with the occupation number J .

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The Maurer-Cartan equation is covariant by construction ½QA ; VðλÞ ¼ QAþδλ A − QA ; ð4:7Þ

under the operator gauge transformation

δQA ¼ ½QA ; VðλÞ ⟶ δðQ2A Þ ¼ ½Q2A ; VðλÞ; ð4:5Þ keeping only the first order in δAμ , as it fits a variation.
Notice that, since QA is not linear in Aμ , δQA ≠ QδA . This
where in general VðλÞ can be any ghost number zero has important consequences that we will elucidate in the
operator commuting with J . It turns out that the simplest next section.
choice for VðλÞ is the one that reproduces the Yang-Mills Finally, given that Q2A yields the vertex operator VðEÞ for
gauge symmetry. Upon taking VðλÞ ¼ λa T a , the commu- the field equation, the vertex operator for the Noether
tator is given by identity N ¼ N a T a must follow from

½QA ; VðλÞ ¼ cð2ðDμ ΛÞDμ þ ðD2 ΛÞ þ ½F μν ; ΛSμν Þ

½QA ; VðEÞ ¼ −cMDμ Eaμ T a ; VðNÞ ≔ cMN ; ð4:8Þ
μ
þ S ðDμ ΛÞ; ð4:6Þ

where Λ ¼ λa T a . This coincides with varying QA by taking since it vanishes identically for VðEÞ ¼ Q2A. We summarize
a variation of Aμ , meaning that here the linear vertex operators,

VðλÞ ¼ Λ; jVðλÞj ¼ 0; Λ ¼ λa T a ;
VðAÞ ¼ Sμ Aμ þ cð2Aμ ∂μ þ ð∂ · AÞ þ 2ð∂μ Aν ÞSμν Þ; jVðAÞj ¼ 1; Aμ ¼ Aaμ T a ;
ð4:9Þ
VðEÞ ¼ cS̃μ E μ ; jVðEÞj ¼ 2; E μ ¼ Eaμ T a ;
VðNÞ ¼ cMN ; jVðNÞj ¼ 3; N ¼ NaTa;

with the degree given by the ghost number. There is a single For the case of Yang-Mills theory, the graded vector
bilinear vertex for two fields, obtained by symmetrizing space X YM contains gauge parameters, fields, field equa-
V 2 ðA; AÞ in the two inputs, tions and Noether identities, organized in the following
chain complex:
V 2 ðA1 ; A2 Þ ¼ cðA1 · A2 þ A2 · A1 þ 2½Aμ1 ; Aν2 Sμν Þ:
ð4:10Þ ð4:11Þ

All vertex operators commute with the Uð1Þ generator J .

This ensures that they are well defined on X , meaning that
their products can be restricted to X consistently. with the subscript in XYM
k denoting the L∞ degree. The
It may look unfamiliar to assign vertex operators for differential B1 has degree þ1 and is given by
gauge parameters and field equations. If we worked with
the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism these would be vertex ðB1 λÞaμ ¼ ∂μ λa ; ðB1 AÞaμ ¼ □Aaμ − ∂μ ∂ · Aa ;
operators for ghosts and antifields. The operator Maurer- ðB1 EÞa ¼ −∂μ Eaμ ; ð4:12Þ
Cartan equation and its gauge symmetries guarantee that
the entire L∞ algebra of Yang-Mills theory is encoded in thus describing the linearized gauge transformation, equa-
these operator relations. In the following we will see tion of motion and Noether identity, respectively. Coming
precisely how it is embedded. to the nonlinear structure, for now we recall that the
expansion of field equations and gauge transformations
B. Vertex operators and L∞ algebra in powers of the field defines the brackets Bn ðA1 ; …; An Þ
and Bn ðλ; A1 ; …; An−1 Þ via
In order to formalize the perturbative expansion of the
Yang-Mills equations and gauge transformations, we need  a
ρ a 1 1
some basic definitions about L∞ algebras. As mentioned in D Fρμ ¼ B1 ðAÞ þ B2 ðA; AÞ þ B3 ðA; A; AÞ ∈ XYM 1 ;
2 3! μ
Sec. II C, an L∞ algebra consists of a graded vector space
endowed with multilinear brackets Bn , obeying some δλ Aaμ ¼ Dμ λa ¼ ðB1 ðλÞ þ B2 ðλ; AÞÞaμ ∈ XYM
0 : ð4:13Þ
generalized Jacobi identities. We use conventions where
all brackets Bn have intrinsic degree þ1 and are graded We now use the above definition of the brackets to
symmetric with respect to the L∞ degree. compare the expansion of Q2A in terms of vertex operators

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with the expansion of cS̃μ Dρ Faρμ T a in powers of the field VðB1 ðEÞÞ ¼ ½Q; VðEÞ;
VðB2 ðλ1 ; λ2 ÞÞ ¼ −½Vðλ1 Þ; Vðλ2 Þ;
1 1 VðB2 ðλ; EÞÞ ¼ −½VðλÞ; VðEÞ;
Q2A ¼ fQ; VðAÞg þ fVðAÞ; VðAÞg þ fQ; V 2 ðA; AÞg
2 2
1 VðB2 ðA; EÞÞ ¼ ½VðAÞ; VðEÞ;
þ fVðAÞ; V 2 ðA; AÞg
2 VðB2 ðλ; NÞÞ ¼ −½VðλÞ; VðNÞ; ð4:18Þ
¼ cS̃μ Dρ Faρμ T a
  following the sign conventions of [40]. All further com-
1 1 mutators of V and V 2 are trivial,
¼ V B1 ðAÞ þ B2 ðA; AÞ þ B3 ðA; A; AÞ : ð4:14Þ
2 3!
½V 2 ðA1 ; A2 Þ; VðEÞ ¼ 0; ½V 2 ðA1 ; A2 Þ; VðNÞ ¼ 0; ð4:19Þ
Matching both sides order by order in the gauge field we which agree with the absence of bilinear vertices V 2 and
derive the following relations for the vertex operators of the three-brackets B3 other than V 2 ðA1 ; A2 Þ and B3 ðA1 ; A2 ; A3 Þ.
L∞ brackets: This exhausts all the nonvanishing brackets of the L∞ algebra
of Yang-Mills theory. The two-brackets in (4.18) have also a
familiar interpretation in gauge theory: B2 ðλ1 ; λ2 Þ encodes
VðB1 ðAÞÞ ¼ fQ; VðAÞg;
the algebra of gauge transformations, B2 ðλ; EÞ and B2 ðλ; NÞ
VðB2 ðA; AÞÞ ¼ fVðAÞ; VðAÞg þ fQ; V 2 ðA; AÞg; express covariance of the field equations and Noether
VðB3 ðA; A; AÞÞ ¼ 3fVðAÞ; V 2 ðA; AÞg: ð4:15Þ identity, respectively, while B2 ðA; EÞ is the nonlinear con-
tribution to the Noether identity Dμ Eaμ ¼ 0.
We can summarize the above dictionary between L∞
This shows quite clearly that the nonvanishing V 2 ðA; AÞ is brackets and vertex operators in a unified fashion. To this
responsible for the presence of higher brackets in the L∞ end, we shall denote generic elements of the Yang-Mills
algebra. Moreover, the three-bracket B3 ðA; A; AÞ is derived complex (4.11) as X; Y; Z; … ∈ X YM . We further introduce
by combining at most bilinear operators. the graded commutator of operators, defined as
We now use the same strategy to identify how the
brackets for gauge transformations are embedded in the ½O1 ; O2 g ¼ O1 O2 − ð−1ÞjO1 jjO2 j O2 O1 ; ð4:20Þ
vertex operators. We expand the operator relation δQA ¼
½QA ; VðλÞ and use (4.7) to find with the degree jOi j given by ghost number. Comparing
(4.9) with (4.11), the L∞ degree of elements of X YM is
related to the degree of their vertex operators by
1
δQA ¼ ½Q; VðλÞ þ ½VðAÞ; VðλÞ þ ½V 2 ðA; AÞ; VðλÞ
2 jVðXÞj ¼ jXj þ 1; jV 2 ðX; YÞj ¼ jXj þ jYj þ 1: ð4:21Þ
¼ VðδAÞ þ V 2 ðδA; AÞ ¼ VðB1 ðλÞ þ B2 ðλ; AÞÞ
Here we write a general bilinear vertex V 2 ðX; YÞ,
þ V 2 ðB1 ðλÞ þ B2 ðλ; AÞ; AÞ; ð4:16Þ which we define to be graded symmetric: V 2 ðX; YÞ ¼
ð−1ÞjXjjYj V 2 ðY; XÞ. In this specific case V 2 is nonvanishing
upon taking into account that V 2 ðA1 ; A2 Þ is symmetric in only when both X and Y are fields, i.e. elements of XYM 0 ,
the two inputs. Matching the two expressions order by and is given by (4.10). The vertex operators for the brackets
order in Aμ we identify the vertex operators for the Bn are then given by
following brackets:
VðB1 ðXÞÞ ¼ ½Q; VðXÞg;
VðB1 λÞ ¼ ½Q; VðλÞ; VðB2 ðX; YÞÞ ¼ ð−1ÞjXj ½VðXÞ; VðYÞg þ ½Q; V 2 ðX; YÞg
VðB2 ðλ; AÞÞ ¼ −½VðλÞ; VðAÞ − V 2 ðB1 λ; AÞ; − V 2 ðB1 ðXÞ; YÞ − ð−1ÞjXj V 2 ðX; B1 ðYÞÞ;
1 VðB3 ðX; Y; ZÞÞ ¼ ½VðXÞ; V 2 ðY; ZÞg þ V 2 ðB2 ðX; YÞ; ZÞ
V 2 ðB2 ðλ; AÞ; AÞ ¼ − ½VðλÞ; V 2 ðA; AÞ: ð4:17Þ
2 þ graded cyclic; ð4:22Þ

The remaining brackets of the L∞ algebra are similarly where the sign for graded cyclic permutations is given by
related to commutators of vertex operators. The relations moving inputs past one another, such as ðX; Y; ZÞ →
are determined by following the same procedure for the ð−1ÞjXjðjYjþjZjÞ ðY; Z; XÞ. Taking V 2 to be nonvanishing only
closure of gauge transformations, gauge covariance of the for two fields, one recovers the relations (4.15), (4.17), and
field equations and so on, yielding (4.18) upon specifying the degrees of the inputs.

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The L∞ algebra of Yang-Mills theory has nonvanishing brackets up to a single B3 . In this case, the generalized Jacobi
identities (which can be infinitely many in general) reduce to

B21 ðXÞ ¼ 0;
B1 ðB2 ðX; YÞÞ þ B2 ðB1 ðXÞ; YÞ þ ð−1ÞjXj B2 ðX; B1 ðYÞÞ ¼ 0;
ðB2 ðB2 ðX; YÞ; ZÞ þ B3 ðB1 ðXÞ; Y; ZÞ þ graded cyclicÞ þ B1 ðB3 ðX; Y; ZÞÞ ¼ 0: ð4:23Þ

These express that B1 is a nilpotent differential acting as a This gives a sort of operator-state correspondence between
derivation on B2 , while B2 obeys the graded Jacobi identity vertex operators VðXÞ and the Yang-Mills graded vector
up to homotopy, given by B3. From a field theory space X YM . Using the expectation value (4.25), the
perspective, the above relations encode the usual consis- standard L∞ pairing between fields and field equations
tency conditions order by order in perturbation theory. in X YM is given by
Given the vertex operators (4.22) for the brackets, the Z
generalized Jacobi identities (4.23) follow, thanks to the hVðAÞVðEÞi ¼ dD xAaμ ðxÞEμa ðxÞ: ð4:27Þ
fact that operators form a graded Lie algebra with respect to
graded commutators.
Since the L∞ algebra of Yang-Mills theory is cyclic (which
is guaranteed, being a Lagrangian theory), the action can be
C. Spacetime action from vertex operators
written in the generalized Maurer-Cartan form
Having established the relation between vertex operators Z 
and the L∞ algebra of Yang-Mills theory, in this last section a 1 1
SYM ½A ¼ d xAμ B1 ðAÞ þ B2 ðA; AÞ
D
we will show that the spacetime action is obtained as an 2 3!
expectation value of off-shell vertex operators. μ
1
To this end, we first introduce a “physical” vacuum state, þ B3 ðA; A; AÞ : ð4:28Þ
4!
which we denote as j1i, by acting on the Fock vacuum with a

the antighost creation operator B, Using (4.27) and the expression (4.15) for the vertex
operators of the brackets, we conclude that the Yang-
j1i ≔ Bj0i; h1j ≔ h0jB̄ ¼ −ðj1iÞ† : ð4:24Þ Mills action is given by the expectation value
Contrary to the Fock vacuum, the state j1i has J ¼ 1. It 1 1
thus belongs to the space H1 and obeys Qj1i ¼ 0. Upon SYM ½A ¼ hVðAÞQVðAÞi þ hV 3 ðAÞi
2 3
tensoring with the color basis, the states j1i ⊗ jwa i belong 1
to the space X and are physical in the sense that they þ hVðAÞfV 2 ðA; AÞ; VðAÞgi
8
coincide with constant gauge parameters. Given a local Z
1
operator OðxÞ acting on X ¼ H1 ⊗ H1color , we define its ≡− dD xFμν a
a Fμν ; ð4:29Þ
vacuum expectation value by 4
Z upon observing that hVðAÞQV 2 ðA; AÞi ¼ 0, which can be
hOðxÞi ≔ dD x trh1jOðxÞj1i checked by direct computation. Notably, this implies that
Z the Yang-Mills cubic vertex is given by hV 3 ðAÞi and the
¼ dD xhw̄a j ⊗ h1jOðxÞj1i ⊗ jwa i; ð4:25Þ action up to cubic order is the Chern-Simons functional
for VðAÞ.
We conclude with some remarks on background covari-
where we take the trace over the color degrees of freedom ance of this approach. The action (4.29) relies explicitly on
using (3.6). a perturbative expansion in powers of Aaμ , as it is common
Acting with the vertex operators VðXÞ on j1i (but not yet
in the L∞ approach to field theories and in string field
on jwa i) we obtain states in H1 times generators T a , which
theory. As such, the above action does not look geometric
are still operators on Hcolor ,
and gauge invariance is not manifest. Background inde-
pendence is at the core of the geometric formulation of
VðλÞj1i ¼ λa ðxÞBj0i ⊗ T a ;
gravity, but its role in gauge theory is less apparent. To
VðAÞj1i ¼ ðAaμ ðxÞαμ þ ∂μ Aaμ ðxÞcBÞj0i ⊗ T a ; appreciate this point, we recall that the L∞ algebra X YM is a
VðEÞj1i ¼ Eaμ ðxÞcαμ j0i ⊗ T a ; vector space, implying that the field Aaμ ∈ XYM 0 is also an
element of a vector space. On the other hand, gauge
VðNÞj1i ¼ N a ðxÞcCj0i ⊗ T a : ð4:26Þ fields are connections, which do not form a vector space.

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To reconcile these two viewpoints one should really think color stripping [40,56,64], the purely kinematic
of Aaμ ∈ XYM
0 as a fluctuation around the trivial connec- space of Yang-Mills theory carries a vast and hidden
tion Āμ ¼ 0. algebraic structure [41,57]. This appears to be the
Although the vertex operators and action do not look off-shell incarnation of the color-kinematics duality
geometric, they descend from the deformed BRST operator needed for double copy [4]. Given the potential
QA , which is background independent in the sense that it simplifications brought by vertex operators [72–75],
depends only on Dμ . One can define vertex operators and it is rather compelling to investigate whether they
L∞ brackets around any background gauge connection Āμ , can be used to derive this kinematic algebra in a
constructive manner. We will start addressing this
as long as it is a solution of the Yang-Mills equations.
problem in a forthcoming paper.
Around such a background the differential is QĀ , while the
(ii) In our analysis we have used the Hamiltonian BRST
linear vertex operator is given by
formalism in canonical quantization. Similar to
string field theory, this approach makes it easier
V Ā ðAÞ ¼ VðAÞ þ V 2 ðĀ; AÞ; ð4:30Þ
to connect the first-quantized system to the corre-
sponding field theory, which we have exploited. It
and V 2 ðA; AÞ is unchanged. The entire construction of this
would now be beneficial to extend this connection to
section, in particular the dictionary (4.22), still holds upon
the Lagrangian path integral, as it is there that the
replacing Q → QĀ and VðAÞ → V Ā ðAÞ. This vertex oper-
worldline formalism is most advantageous. For
ator formalism is thus background covariant, in the sense
instance, in [42] it was shown that the contribution
that one has to choose a background to define QĀ and
of the quartic vertex to the four-gluon amplitude can
V Ā ðAÞ, but the structure of the theory is the same for any
be entirely captured by integrating linear vertex
background solution Āμ .
operators on the worldline, not needing the bilinear
vertex V 2 ðA; AÞ. It would thus be particularly helpful
V. CONCLUSIONS to establish a rigorous dictionary between the
In this paper we have constructed off-shell vertex operator form used in this paper and the path integral
operators for Yang-Mills theory, using the bosonic spinning on the line. Recent results [17,18] using the Bern-
particle. Upon introducing vertex operators for all elements Kosower rules suggest that this could have important
of the L∞ complex, we have shown how the entire L∞ applications for studying color-kinematics duality
algebra of Yang-Mills theory is encoded in their commu- and the kinematic algebra.
tation relations. In particular, the three-bracket B3 ðA; A; AÞ
is derived from at most bilinear operators, namely VðAÞ and ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
V 2 ðA; AÞ. This suggests that vertex operators can simplify
the algebraic structure of Yang-Mills theory, in that higher I would like to thank Giuseppe Casale, Christoph
brackets are derived from more fundamental objects. This Chiaffrino, Felipe Díaz Jaramillo, Olaf Hohm and Jan
opens up two natural directions for the future: Plefka for discussions and collaborations on related
(i) The L∞ algebra of Yang-Mills theory captures the topics. The work of the author is funded by the
familiar properties of gauge theories, such as their Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German
gauge algebra and consistent interactions. Upon Research Foundation)—Project No. 524744955.

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