Quantcast
  • Register
PhysicsOverflow is a next-generation academic platform for physicists and astronomers, including a community peer review system and a postgraduate-level discussion forum analogous to MathOverflow.

Welcome to PhysicsOverflow! PhysicsOverflow is an open platform for community peer review and graduate-level Physics discussion.

Please help promote PhysicsOverflow ads elsewhere if you like it.

News

PO is now at the Physics Department of Bielefeld University!

New printer friendly PO pages!

Migration to Bielefeld University was successful!

Please vote for this year's PhysicsOverflow ads!

Please do help out in categorising submissions. Submit a paper to PhysicsOverflow!

... see more

Tools for paper authors

Submit paper
Claim Paper Authorship

Tools for SE users

Search User
Reclaim SE Account
Request Account Merger
Nativise imported posts
Claim post (deleted users)
Import SE post

Users whose questions have been imported from Physics Stack Exchange, Theoretical Physics Stack Exchange, or any other Stack Exchange site are kindly requested to reclaim their account and not to register as a new user.

Public \(\beta\) tools

Report a bug with a feature
Request a new functionality
404 page design
Send feedback

Attributions

(propose a free ad)

Site Statistics

205 submissions , 163 unreviewed
5,082 questions , 2,232 unanswered
5,353 answers , 22,789 comments
1,470 users with positive rep
820 active unimported users
More ...

  How to show that $L_n^\dagger=L_{-n}$ for the Virasoro generators in CFT?

+ 3 like - 0 dislike
913 views

It seems to be a common knowledge that for the Virasoro generators in CFT the rule of hermitian conjugation reads
$$L_n^\dagger=L_{-n}$$
There is probably more then one way to show this. I ask for a clarification of a particular one.

One first defines the scalar product on a pair of fields $A_1,A_2$ as a correlator
$$\langle A_1,A_2\rangle:=\langle A_1(\infty)A_2(0)\rangle:=\lim\limits_{z\to\infty}z^{2\Delta_1}\langle A_1(z) A_2(0)\rangle$$

The action of the Virasoro generator $L_n$ on fieds is defined via
$$L_n A_1(z):=\frac1{2\pi i}\oint_z d\zeta (\zeta-z)^{n+1} \langle T(\zeta) A_1(z)\rangle$$

Using these definitions I can show that $L_1^\dagger=L_{-1}$ in the following way. Consider
$$\langle L_1 A_1(\infty) A_2(0)\rangle=\lim\limits_{z\to\infty}\frac{z^{2\Delta_1-2}}{2\pi i}\oint_z d\zeta (\zeta-z)^2\langle T(\zeta)A_1(z)A_2(0)\rangle$$

Integral around point $z$ can be represented as the sum of integrals around $0$ and $\infty$. Using the ordinary regularity condition for the energy momentum tensor $T(\zeta)\sim\zeta^{-4}, \zeta\to\infty$ one sees that the integral around $\infty$ vanishes. In the integral around $0$ out of three terms in expansion of $(\zeta-z)^2$ only the one with $z^2$ survives in the $z\to\infty$ limit. Hence
$$\langle L_1 A_1(\infty)A_2(0)\rangle=\lim\limits_{z\to\infty}\frac{z^{2\Delta_1}}{2\pi i}\oint_0 d\zeta \langle T(\zeta)A_1(z)A_2(0)\rangle=\langle A_1(\infty) L_{-1}A_2(0)\rangle$$

However this trick does not work for me already for $n=2$. The corresponding scalar product can be represented as
$$\langle L_2A_1(\infty)A_2(0)\rangle=\lim\limits_{z\to\infty}\frac{z^{2\Delta_1-4}}{2\pi i}(\oint_0+\oint_\infty) d\zeta (\zeta-z)^3 \langle T(\zeta)A_1(z)A_2(0)\rangle$$
Here the situation is opposite. It seems to me that the integral around $0$ vanishes in the $z\to\infty$ limit, since it grows as $z^3$ and gets diminished by a factor $z^{-4}$. On the other hand, the integral around $\infty$ seems to be non-vanishing as the integrand grows faster that in preceeding case, and the $\zeta^{-4}$ fall off of $T(\zeta)$ is not enough to make it regular at infinity. But I do not see how to bring this integral to the expected form $\langle A_1(\infty)L_{-2}A_2(0)\rangle$. Any help is appreciated.

asked Mar 11, 2016 in Theoretical Physics by Weather Report (240 points) [ no revision ]

Just a comment:  the scalar product you define is only correct if \(A_1\) is primary.  Thus, \(L_1\) and \(L_2\) should annihilate it.

Your answer

Please use answers only to (at least partly) answer questions. To comment, discuss, or ask for clarification, leave a comment instead.
To mask links under text, please type your text, highlight it, and click the "link" button. You can then enter your link URL.
Please consult the FAQ for as to how to format your post.
This is the answer box; if you want to write a comment instead, please use the 'add comment' button.
Live preview (may slow down editor)   Preview
Your name to display (optional):
Privacy: Your email address will only be used for sending these notifications.
Anti-spam verification:
If you are a human please identify the position of the character covered by the symbol $\varnothing$ in the following word:
p$\hbar$ys$\varnothing$csOverflow
Then drag the red bullet below over the corresponding character of our banner. When you drop it there, the bullet changes to green (on slow internet connections after a few seconds).
Please complete the anti-spam verification




user contributions licensed under cc by-sa 3.0 with attribution required

Your rights
...