Quantization and Gauge Freedom in a Theory with Spontaneously Broken Symmetry

We quantize a model with spontaneously broken symmetry in the asymmetrical gauge _A^= ({^2}m), where A^ is the vector meson with mass m and is the gauge excitation field. We show that ^2 can be identified as the mass parameter of the field, in addition to the numerical parameter defined in the text. This implies that is not a Goldstone boson. A renormalization gauge corresponds to any gauge with ^2 finite. One can formally go over to the unitarity gauge by the limit ^2. However, this limit should be taken with extreme care, so as not to interfere with the limits of internal-loop integration. Several examples, including the anomalous magnetic moment of an electron, are given to illustrate that (a) physical quantities are gauge-invariant, (b) the gauge with =1 and ^2=m^2 is particularly convenient for finite calculations, (c) ambiguities may arise if the ^2= is taken haphazardly, and (d) renormalization constants are gauge-dependent and in some cases can be defined only for certain values of ^2.