Hidden gauge reducibility of superstring field theory and Batalin-Vilkovisky master action

Abstract

In this paper, we show that there exists a hidden gauge reducibility in superstring field theory based on the small dynamical string field $\Psi \in \mathcal{H}_{\beta \gamma }$ whose gauge variation is also small $\delta \Psi \in \mathcal{H}_{\beta \gamma }$. It requires additional ghost-antighost fields in the gauge fixed or quantum gauge theory, and thus changes the Batalin-Vilkovisky master action, which implies that additional propagating degrees of freedom appear in the loop superstring amplitudes via the gauge choice of the field theory. We present that the resultant master action can take a different and enlarged form, and that there exist canonical transformations getting it back to the canonical form. On the basis of the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism, we obtain several exact results and clarify this underlying gauge structure of superstring field theory.