Bosonization and duality symmetry in the soldering formalism

We develop a technique that solders the dual aspects of some symmetry, Using this technique it is possible to combine two theories with such symmetries to yield a new effective theory. Some applications in two and three-dimensional bosonization are discussed, In particular, it is shown that two apparently independent three-dimensional massive Thirring models with same coupling but opposite mass signatures, in the long wavelength limit, combine by the process of bosonization and soldering to yield an effective massive Maxwell theory. Similar features also hold for quantum electrodynamics in three dimensions, We also provide a systematic derivation of duality symmetric actions and show that the soldering mechanism leads to a master action which is duality invariant under a bigger set of symmetries than is usually envisaged. The concept of duality swapping is introduced and its implications are analyzed. The example of electromagnetic duality is discussed in details. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.