University of Georgia

Mathematics Department Colloquium

Feng Xu

University of Oklahoma

November 11, 1999

Algebraic coset conformal field theory


Abstract: All unitary Rational Conformal Field Theories (RCFT) are conjectured to be related to unitary coset Conformal Field Theories, i.e., gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) models with compact gauge groups. In this talk we will discuss an approach to the coset RCFT using subfactor theory and ideas of algebraic quantum field theory. In particular, we will present a result which proves a long-standing conjecture about the representations of coset W algebras.