Gauge-independent effective gauge fields

The problem of a gauge-independent definition of the effective gauge field is considered. The Slavnov identities corresponding to a system of interacting quantum gauge and classical matter fields, playing the role of a measuring device, are obtained. With their help, in the case of power-counting renormalizable theories, gauge independence of the effective device action is proved in the low-energy limit. This allows one to introduce a gauge-independent notion of the effective gauge field