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Aspects of the Affine Superalgebra sl(2|l) at Fractional Level Ph.D. Thesis by Gavin Balfour Johnstone, April 2001 In this thesis we study the affine superalgebra sl(2|l; C) at fractional levels of the form k = l/u-l,uєN\{l}. It is for these levels that admissible representations exist, which transform into each other under modular transformations. In the second chapter we review background material on conformal field theory, particularly the Wess-Zumino-Witten model and the connection with modular transformations. The superalgebra sl(2|l;C) is introduced, as is its affine version. The next chapter studies the modular transformation properties of sl(2|l;C) characters. We derive formulae for these transformations for all levels of the form K = 1/u-1,uєN\{1}. We also investigate some modular invariant combinations of characters and find two series of modular invariants, analogous to the A- and D-series of the classification of sl{2) modular invariants. In chapter 4 we turn to the study of fusion rules. We concentrate on the case k = -1/2. By considering the decoupling of singular vectors, we are able to find consistent fusion rules for this particular level. These fusion rules correspond to a modular invariant found in chapter 3. This study suggests that one may consistently define a conformal field theory based on sl(2|l;C) at fractional level.

This thesis is concerned with the properties of 1 + 1 dimensional massive field theories in both infinite and semi-infinite geometries. Chapters 1, 2 and 3 develop the necessary theoretical framework and review existing work by Chim and Zamolodchikov [1] on integrable perturbations of the (bulk) q-state Potts model, the particular model under consideration in this thesis. Chapter 4 consists of a detailed analysis of the bootstrap for this model, during the course of which unexpected behaviour arises. The treatment of 1] has consequently been revised, but further investigation will be necessary before complete understanding of this behaviour can be reached. In the final chapter, attention turns to the imposition of boundary conditions on two dimensional systems. After looking at this from a statistical mechanical point of view, a brief review of boundary conformal held theory and its integrable perturbations is given. This leads once more to a consideration of the q-state Potts model. After summarising [2], where fixed and free boundary conditions are considered, a third and previously untreated boundary condition is discussed.

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In 1993, 't Hooft (1999 Nobel Prize winner in physics) proposed that quantum gravity requires that the information in a three dimensional world can be stored on a two dimensional manifold much like a hologram. This is known as the holographic principle, and since then this idea has changed the direction of researches in quantum gravity. A concrete realization of this idea in string theory was first discovered in 1997 by Maldacena in his famous anti de-Sitter/Conformal Field Theory\footnote{AdS/CFT for short. AdS stands for anti de-Sitter, and CFT is the acronym for Conformal Field Theory.} correspondence conjecture. The AdS/CFT correspondence states that some string theories on a certain manifold that contains AdS space, in some limits, are dual to a CFT living on the boundary of this manifold. Despite the rapid progress in studying the AdS/CFT, this proposal is still away from practical applications. Some of the reasons are the fact that the AdS (anti-de Sitter) spacetime is not likely the spacetime where we are living nowadays and the existence of extra dimensions (as one of the ingredients in string theory) is still under question. The Kerr/CFT correspondence which was proposed in 2008 by Strominger et al appears to be a more ``down to earth'' duality, compared to the AdS/CFT correspondence. Originally, this new correspondence states that the physics of extremal Kerr black holes which are rotating by the maximal angular velocity can be described by a two dimensional CFT living on the near horizon. In this thesis, after reviewing some concepts in Kerr/CFT correspondence, I present some of my research results which extend and support the correspondence for non-extremal rotating black holes. I discuss the extension of the Kerr/CFT correspondence for the rotating black holes in string theory, namely Kerr-Sen black holes, and the Kerr/CFT analysis for vector field perturbations near the horizon of Kerr black holes. It is recently conjectured that a generic non-extremal Kerr black hole could be holographically dual to a hidden conformal field theory in two dimensions. Furthermore, it is known that there are two CFT duals (pictures) to describe the charged rotating black holes which correspond to angular momentum $J$ and electric charge $Q$ of the black hole. Furthermore these two pictures can be incorporated by the CFT duals (general picture) that are generated by $SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$ modular group. The general conformal structure can be revealed by looking at a charged scalar wave equation with some appropriate values of frequency and charge. In this regard, we consider the wave equation of a charged massless scalar field in the background of Kerr-Sen black hole and show in the ``near region", the wave equation can be reproduced by the squared Casimir operator of a local $SL(2,\mathbb{R})_L \times SL(2,\mathbb{R})_R$ hidden conformal symmetry. We can find the exact agreement between macroscopic and microscopic physical quantities like entropy and absorption cross section of scalars for Kerr-Sen black hole. We then find an extension of the vector fields that in turn yields an extended local family of $SL(2,\mathbb{R})_L \times SL(2,\mathbb{R})_R$ hidden conformal symmetries, parameterized by one parameter. For some special values of the parameter, we find a copy of $SL(2,\mathbb{R})$ hidden conformal algebra for the charged Gibbons-Maeda-Garfinkle-Horowitz-Strominger black hole in the strong deflection limit. The generic non-extremal Kerr-Newman black holes are holographically dual to hidden conformal field theories in two different pictures. The two pictures can be merged together to the CFT duals in the general picture that are generated by $SL(2,\mathbb{Z})$ modular group. We find some extensions of the conformal symmetry generators that yield an extended local family of $SL(2,\mathbb{R})_L \times SL(2,\mathbb{R})_R$ hidden conformal symmetries for the Kerr-Newman black holes, parameterized by one deformation parameter. The family of deformed hidden conformal symmetry for Kerr-Newman black holes also provides a set of deformed hidden conformal generators for the charged Reissner-Nordstrom black holes. The set of deformed hidden conformal generators reduce to the hidden $SL(2,\mathbb{R})$ conformal generators for the Reissner-Nordstrom black hole for specific value of deformation parameter. We also find agreement between the macroscopic and microscopic entropy and absorption cross section of scalars for the Kerr-Newman black hole by considering the appropriate temperatures and central charges for the deformed CFTs. Also in this thesis, we derive an appropriate boundary action for the vector fields near the horizon of near extremal Kerr black hole. We then use the obtained boundary action to calculate the two-point function for the vector fields in Kerr/CFT correspondence. In performing this analysis we borrow a formula proposed in AdS/CFT, namely the equality between the bulk and boundary theories partition functions. We show the gauge-independent part of the two-point function is in agreement with what is expected from CFT.

<p>In this thesis we study aspects of (0,2) superconformal field theories (SCFTs), which are suitable for compactification of the heterotic string. In the first part, we study a class of (2,2) SCFTs obtained by fibering a Landau-Ginzburg (LG) orbifold CFT over a compact K\"ahler base manifold. While such models are naturally obtained as phases in a gauged linear sigma model (GLSM), our construction is independent of such an embedding. We discuss the general properties of such theories and present a technique to study the massless spectrum of the associated heterotic compactification. We test the validity of our method by applying it to hybrid phases of GLSMs and comparing spectra among the phases. In the second part, we turn to the study of the role of accidental symmetries in two-dimensional (0,2) SCFTs obtained by RG flow from (0,2) LG theories. These accidental symmetries are ubiquitous, and, unlike in the case of (2,2) theories, their identification is key to correctly identifying the IR fixed point and its properties. We develop a number of tools that help to identify such accidental symmetries in the context of (0,2) LG models and provide a conjecture for a toric structure of the SCFT moduli space in a large class of models. In the final part, we study the stability of heterotic compactifications described by (0,2) GLSMs with respect to worldsheet instanton corrections to the space-time superpotential following the work of Beasley and Witten. We show that generic models elude the vanishing theorem proved there, and may not determine supersymmetric heterotic vacua. We then construct a subclass of GLSMs for which a vanishing theorem holds.</p> / Dissertation

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We consider a series of problems regarding quantum Hall edges, focusing on both dynamics and the mathematical structure of edge states. We begin in Chapter 3 with a limiting case of the Laughlin state placed in a very steep confining potential, but which is weak compared to the interactions. We find that the eigenstates have a Jack polynomial structure and an energy spectrum which is extremely different from the well-known Luttinger liquid edge. In Chapter 5 we analyse the inner products of edge state wavefunctions, using an effective description given by a large-N expansion ansatz proposed by J. Dubail, N. Read and E. Rezayi, PRB 86, 245310 (2012). As noted by these authors, the terms in this ansatz can be constrained using symmetry, a procedure we perform to high orders. We then check the conjecture by calculating overlaps exactly for small system sizes and comparing the numerics with our high-order expansion to find excellent agreement. Finally, Chapter 6 considers the behaviour of quantum Hall edges close to the Luttinger liquid fixed point that occurs in the low energy, large system limit. We construct effective Hamiltonians using a local field theory description and then consider the effect of bulk symmetries on this edge. The symmetry analysis produces remarkable simplifications which allow for very accurate descriptions of the low-energy edge physics even relatively far away from the Luttinger liquid fixed point.

In this thesis we accomplish two goals: We construct a two dimensional conformal field theory (CFT), in the form of a Liouville theory, in the near horizon limit for three and four dimensions black holes. The near horizon CFT assumes the two dimensional black hole solutions that were first introduced by Christensen and Fulling (1977 Phys. Rev. D 15 2088-104) and later expanded to a greater class of black holes via Robinson and Wilczek (2005 Phys. Rev. Lett. 95 011303). The two dimensions black holes admit a $Diff(S^1)$ or Witt subalgebra, which upon quantization in the horizon limit becomes Virasoro with calculable central charge. These charges and lowest Virasoro eigen-modes reproduce the correct Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the four and three dimensions black holes via the Cardy formula (Bl"ote et al 1986 Phys. Rev. Lett. 56 742; Cardy 1986 Nucl. Phys. B 270 186). Furthermore, the two dimensions CFT's energy momentum tensor is anomalous, i.e. its trace is nonzero. However, In the horizon limit the energy momentum tensor becomes holomorphic equaling the Hawking flux of the four and three dimensions black holes. This encoding of both entropy and temperature provides a uniformity in the calculation of black hole thermodynamics and statistical quantities for the non local effective action approach. We also show that the near horizon regime of a Kerr-Newman-$AdS$ ($KNAdS$) black hole, given by its two dimensional analogue a la Robinson and Wilczek, is asymptotically $AdS_2$ and dual to a one dimensional quantum conformal field theory (CFT). The $s$-wave contribution of the resulting CFT's energy-momentum-tensor together with the asymptotic symmetries, generate a centrally extended Virasoro algebra, whose central charge reproduces the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy via Cardy's Formula. Our derived central charge also agrees with the near extremal Kerr/CFT Correspondence in the appropriate limits. We also compute the Hawking temperature of the $KNAdS$ black hole by coupling its Robinson and Wilczek two dimensional analogue (RW2DA) to conformal matter.

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