Path Integrals, BRST Identities and Regularization Schemes in Nonstandard Gauges

The path integral of a gauge theory is studied in Coulomb-like gauges. The Christ-Lee terms of operator ordering are reproduced within the path integration framework. In the presence of fermions, a new operator term, in addition to that of Christ-Lee, is discovered. Such kind of terms is found to be instrumental in restoring the invariance of the effective Lagrangian under a field dependent gauge transformation, which underlies the BRST symmetry. A unitary regularization scheme which maintains manifest BRST symmetry and is free from energy divergences is proposed for a nonabelian gauge field.