Vilkovisky-DeWitt Effective Potential Revisited in Gauge-Free Framework

Abstract: An alternative approach to scalar quantum electrodynamics has been proposed where the usual gauge redundancy of the theory do not manifest. The gauge-dependence of Coleman- Weinberg effective potential is resolved using gauge-free approach leading to a unique scalar to vector mass ratio. The gauge-free result is compared with the one obtained in Vilkovisky-DeWitt geometric framework and it is shown that it differs from the standard result reported earlier. It is also shown that for reparametrization invariance of the Coleman-Weinberg potential one must combine the Vilkovisky-DeWitt method with the gauge-free approach.