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Advanced Series in Mathematical Physics - Vol. 22

W-SYMMETRY

by P Bouwknegt (University of Southern California) & K Schoutens (Princeton University)

W-symmetry is an extension of conformal symmetry in two dimensions. Since its introduction in 1985, W-symmetry has become one of the central notions in the study of two-dimensional conformal field theory. The mathematical structures that underlie W-symmetry are so-called W-algebras, which are higher-spin extensions of the Virasoro algebra. This book contains a collection of papers on W-symmetry, covering the period from 1985 through 1993. Its main focus is the construction of W-algebras and their representation theory. A recurrent theme is the intimate connection between W-algebras and affine Lie algebras. Some of the applications, in particular W-gravity, are also covered.

The significance of this reprint volume is that there are no textbooks entirely devoted to the subject.


Contents:

  • History and Background
  • Classical W-Algebras and Their Connection to Toda Field Theories
  • Quantum W-Algebras
  • Quantum Drinfel'd-Sokolov Reduction
  • Coset Constructions
  • W¥ Type Algebras
  • W-Gravity and W-Strings


Readership: Students and researchers in the field of conformal field theory.


"The researcher who wants to get acquainted with W-symmetry now has a good selection of important papers at a low cost at his/her disposal ... Experts may be more interested in some of the less widely available background papers, and the (updated) reference list."

Journal of Classical and Quantum Gravity, 1997




904pp Pub. date: Jan 1995
ISBN 981-02-1762-5 US$116 / £80


Copyright © 2008 World Scientific Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
Updated on 23 July 2008