YANG-MILLS THEORY WITHOUT MANDELSTAM CONSTRAINTS

We continue our investigation of the SU(2) lattice gauge theory in terms of an independent set of gauge-invariant Wilson loops. It is demonstrated how the standard measure of the gauge-covariant formulation can be transformed to a loop-variable measure. Explicit calculations in two and three dimensions illustrate the validity of our approach. We solve the 1 x 1 theory in terms of loop variables, and discuss the derivation of the classical equations of motion and possible consequences for the continuum theory.