ENGLISH

A Mathematical Introduction to Conformal Field Theory

By M. Schottenloher (auth.)

Book information

Publisher
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Year
2008
ISBN
3540686258, 9783540686255
DOI
10.1007/978-3-540-68628-6
Open Library ID
OL23078415M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
2 MB (1934915 bytes)
Series
Lecture Notes in Physics 759
Edition
2
Pages
249\249
Library
Kolxo3
Time added
2009-07-20 03:45:11
Mathematical Methods in Physics;Global Analysis anQuantum Field Theory;Algebra;Physics beyond the St

Description

The first part of this book gives a detailed, self-contained and mathematically rigorous exposition of classical conformal symmetry in n dimensions and its quantization in two dimensions. In particular, the conformal groups are determined and the appearance of the Virasoro algebra in the context of the quantization of two-dimensional conformal symmetry is explained via the classification of central extensions of Lie algebras and groups. The second part surveys some more advanced topics of conformal field theory, such as the representation theory of the Virasoro algebra, conformal symmetry within string theory, an axiomatic approach to Euclidean conformally covariant quantum field theory and a mathematical interpretation of the Verlinde formula in the context of moduli spaces of holomorphic vector bundles on a Riemann surface. The substantially revised and enlarged second edition makes in particular the second part of the book more self-contained and tutorial, with many more examples given. Furthermore, two new chapters on Wightman's axioms for quantum field theory and vertex algebras broaden the survey of advanced topics. An outlook making the connection with most recent developments has also been added.

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