Renormalization of the Electroweak Theory in the Background Field Method

The applicability of the background field method in spontaneously broken gauge theories is examined with new features emphasized. An explicit one loop analysis in the electroweak theory shows that the method can be consistently implemented in the on-shell renormalization scheme, and that the choice of the background gauge cannot be arbitrary and must be fixed in the Landau gauge if one calculates scattering amplitudes involving unphysical Goldstone bosons. Some possible applications are also briefly indicated.