General Solution of the Consistency Equation

Abstract

We produce the general solution of the Wess-Zumino consistency condition for gauge theories of the Yang-mills type, for any ghost number and form degree. We resolve the problem of the cohomological independence of these solutions. In other words we fully describe the local version of the cohomology of the BRS operator, modulo the differential on space--time. This in particular includes the presence of external fields and non--trivial topologies of space--time.