Hidden Symmetries in Second Class Constrained Systems - Are New Fields Necessary?

Abstract

For many systems with second class constraints, the question posed in the title is answered in the negative. We prove this for a range of systems with two second class constraints. After looking at two examples, we consider a fairly general proof. It is shown that, to unravel gauge invariances in second class constrained systems, it is sufficient to work in the original phase space itself. Extension of the phase space by introducing new variables or fields is not required.