Reply to ``Proof of the Gauge Independence of the Conformal Anomaly of Bosonic String in the Sense of Kraemmer and Rebhan''

Abstract

In two recent preprints (hep-th/9710131 and hep-th/9710132), Abe and Nakanishi have claimed that the proof of the gauge independence of the conformal anomaly of the bosonic string as given by us in 1988 was wrong. A similar allegation has been made concerning our proof of the gauge independence of the sum of the ghost number and Lagrange multiplier anomalies in non-conformal gauges. In this short note we refute their criticism by explaining the simple logic of our proofs and emphasizing the points that have been missed by Abe and Nakanishi.