BATALIN-FRADKIN QUANTIZATION OF THE UNITARY GAUGE ABELIAN HIGGS-MODEL

In the unitary gauge the abelian Higgs model is a second-class system with non-polynomial field dependent Dirac brackets. We quantize this t heory following Batalin and Fradkin, by first converting it into a fir st-class system in an extended phase space, and then constructing the unitarizing Hamiltonian and the BRST charge. In particular we show how the partition function of the first-class and second-class (unitary g auge) formulations is recovered for different choices of gauge conditi ons in the extended phase space. In Faddeev-Popov-like gauges, the aux iliary Batalin-Fradkin scalar field is identified with the Goldstone b oson of the Higgs model.