Schwinger-Keldysh effective theory of charge transport: redundancies and systematic ω/T expansion

A bstract We study Schwinger-Keldysh effective field theories (EFTs) for systems with non-Abelian internal symmetries near thermal equilibrium. We consider two approaches that were put forward in the literature — one using a redundant Goldstone parameterization, the other employing an adjoint matter field — and demonstrate their complete equivalence by providing an explicit dictionary and proving their equivalence at the path integral level. Critically, we extend both formalisms to be compatible with the dynamical Kubo-Martin-Schwinger (DKMS) symmetry to all orders in ℏ ω / T , classifying all possible invariant kernels satisfying unitarity constraints. We also establish precise power-counting rules, clarifying the interplay between the semiclassical and hydrodynamic expansions. Our work provides a framework for studying non-Abelian charge transport and fluctuations to arbitrary orders in ℏ ω / T .