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Published December 15, 2016 | Submitted
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Comments on "A note on first-order formalism and odd-derivative actions" by S. Deser

Deser, S. ORCID icon

Abstract

We argue that the obstacles to having a first-order formalism for odd-derivative actions presented in a pedagogical note by Deser are based on examples which are not first-order forms of the original actions. The general derivation of an equivalent first-order form of the original second-order action is illustrated using the example of topologically massive electrodynamics (TME). The correct first-order formulations of the TME model keep intact the gauge invariance presented in its second-order form demonstrating that the gauge invariance is not lost in the Ostrogradsky process.

Additional Information

I thank R. Jackiw for (unlike these authors) advising me of their hep-th submission. My work was supported by NSF Grant PHY 04-01667.

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August 19, 2023
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