Coordinate-free quantization of first-class constrained systems

The coordinate-free formulation of canonical quantization, achieved by a flat-space Brownian motion regularization of phase-space path integrals, is extended to a special class of closed first-class constrained systems that is broad enough to include Yang-Mills type theories with an arbitrary compact gauge group. Central to this extension are the use of coherent state path integrals and of Lagrange multiplier integrations that engender projection operators onto the subspace of gauge invariant states. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.