A mathematical introduction to conformal field theory
Subtitle: based on a series of lectures given at the Mathematisches Institut der Universität Hamburg
By: Martin Schottenloher.
Series: Lecture notes in physics -- m43
Publisher: Springer
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Berlin; London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 142
Subjects: Conformal invariants.; Quantum field theory.; Mathematical physics.
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 appearence 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. This book is an important text for researchers and graduate students.