On the causal gauge principle

Abstract

Work by the Zurich school of causal (Epstein-Glaser) renormalization has shown that renormalizability in the presence of massless or massive gauge fields (as primary entities) explains gauge invariance and, in some instances, the presence of a Higgs-like particle, without the Brout-Englert-Higgs-Kibble (BEHK) mechanism. We review that work, in a pedagogical vein, with a pointer to go beyond.