Non-compact string backgrounds and non-rational CFT

V. Schomerus (1)

1 SPhT - Service de Physique Théorique

This is an introduction to the microscopic techniques of non-rational bulk and boundary conformal field theory which are needed to describe strings moving in non-compact curved backgrounds. The latter arise e.g.\ in the context of AdS/CFT-like dualities and for studies of time-dependent processes. After a general outline of the central concepts, we focus on two specific but rather prototypical models: Liouville field theory and the 2D cigar. Rather than following the historical path, the presentation attempts to be systematic and self-contained.

Domaines: Physique Générale [physics.gen-ph]

V. Schomerus. Non-compact string backgrounds and non-rational CFT. 2005, ⟨10.1016/j.physrep.2006.05.001⟩. ⟨hal-00163911⟩