Repairing Broken Algebras

Abstract

We consider theories characterized by a set of Ward operators which do not form a closed algebra. We impose the Slavnov--Taylor identity built out of the Ward operators and we derive the acceptable breaking of the algebra and the general form of the classical action. The 1PI generating functional is expressed in terms of the known quantities characterizing the theory and of a nontrivial integrability condition. As a nontrivial application of our formalism, we discuss the N=4 supersymmetric nonlinear sigma model.