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Abstract:
For field theories that include the abelian gauge field Aμνvarrho the field equations allow an arbitrary integration constant, which does not appear in the lagrangian but which does affect the physics. We present two applications: (i) the θ parameter of effective lagrangians for chiral symmetry breaking in QCD, and (ii) the cosmological constant in N = 8 supergravity, which does not require a gauging of the O(8) symmetry, but is rather due to a spontaneous breakdown of supersymmetry.