Ghost (physics)

In physics, Faddeev–Popov ghosts (also called gauge ghosts or ghost fields) are extraneous fields which are introduced into gauge quantum field theories to maintain the consistency of the path integral formulation. They are named after Ludvig Faddeev and Victor Popov.

A more general meaning of the word ghost in theoretical physics is also discussed below.

The necessity for Faddeev–Popov ghosts follows from the requirement that quantum field theories yield unambiguous, non-singular solutions. This is not possible in the path integral formulation when a gauge symmetry is present since there is no procedure for selecting among physically equivalent solutions related by gauge transformation. The path integrals overcount field configurations corresponding to the same physical state; the measure of the path integrals contains a factor which does not allow obtaining various results directly from the action.

It is possible, however, to modify the action, such that methods such as Feynman diagrams will be applicable by adding ghost fields which break the gauge symmetry. The ghost fields do not correspond to any real particles in external states: they appear as virtual particles in Feynman diagrams – or as the absence of gauge configurations. However, they are a necessary computational tool to preserve unitarity.

The exact form or formulation of ghosts is dependent on the particular gauge chosen, although the same physical results must be obtained with all gauges since the gauge one chooses to carry out calculations is an arbitrary choice. The Feynman-'t Hooft gauge is usually the simplest gauge for this purpose, and is assumed for the rest of this article.

...
Wikipedia