The mostly BRST exact operator in superstrings

A bstract A careful gauge fixing of the conformal killing group (CKG) on genus zero surfaces in bosonic string theory gives non-vanishing two point amplitudes that match the corresponding field theory expressions [1, 2]. An important ingredient for gauge fixing two point amplitudes in [2] was the mostly BRST (mBRST) exact operator. The utility of this operator in gauge fixing CKG perhaps is not just limited to two point amplitudes — we can insert a mBRST exact operator to fix a conformal killing vector (CKV) instead of fixing the position of a vertex operator in a general tree level bosonic string amplitude [3, 4]. Using the mBRST exact operator, written in the pure spinor variables, we get the expected two point superstring amplitudes [5]. In this work we explore if it is possible to use this operator for fixing CKG for general tree level amplitudes in superstrings. We find it to be the case by explicitly re-calculating the three gluon amplitude in open strings by making use of this operator. Finally, we show that this operator directly emerges by following a Faddeev-Popov gauge fixing method in bosonic string theory. This derivation is independent of the number of external strings, thus proving the above claim.