Non-Abelian Anomalies and Effective Actions for a Homogeneous Space $G/H$

Abstract

We consider the problem of constructing the fully gauged effective action in $2n$-dimensional space-time for Nambu-Goldstone bosons valued in a homogeneous space $G/H$, with the requirement that the action be a solution of the anomalous Ward identity and be invariant under the gauge transformations of $H$. We show that this can be done whenever the homotopy group $\pi_{2n}(G/H)$ is trivial, $G/H$ is reductive and $H$ is embedded in $G$ so as to be anomaly free, in particular if $H$ is an anomaly safe group. We construct the necessary generalization of the Bardeen counterterm and give explicit forms for the anomaly and the effective action. When $G/H$ is a symmetric space the counterterm and the anomaly decompose into a parity even and a parity odd part. In this case, for the parity even part of the action, one does not need the anomaly free embedding of $H$.