Field Anti-Field Duality, p-Form Gauge Fields and Topological Field Theories

Abstract

We construct a framework which unifyies in dual pairs the fields and anti-fields of the Batalin and Vilkovisky quantization method. We consider gauge theories of p-forms coupled to Yang-Mills fields. Our algorithm generates many topological models of the Chern-Simon type or of the Donaldson-Witten type. Some of these models can undergo a partial breaking of their topological symmetries.