ANOMALOUS VIOLATION OF CONSERVATION-LAWS IN MINKOWSKI SPACE

We consider the evolution of quantum Fermi fields in Minkowski gauge f ield backgrounds, Our motivation is the study of anomalous fermion num ber violating processes. We derive selection rules for fermion scatter ing amplitudes which relate the violation of fermionic charge to the c hange in winding between early and late times of the vacuum part of th e gauge field. We find that the amount of fermion number violation is always integer, even when the topological charge of the gauge field is fractional, As an explicit example, we apply our results to spherical ly symmetric Minkowski solutions.