English

The principal W-algebra of $\mathfrak{psl}_{2|2}$

Quantum Algebra 2026-03-27 v3 High Energy Physics - Theory Mathematical Physics math.MP Representation Theory

Abstract

We study the structure and representation theory of the principal W-algebra Wprk\mathsf{W}^{\mathsf{k}}_{\mathrm{pr}} of Vk(psl22)\mathsf{V}^{\mathsf{k}}(\mathfrak{psl}_{2|2}). The defining operator product expansions are computed, as is the Zhu algebra, and these results are used to classify irreducible highest-weight modules. In particular, for k=±12\mathsf{k} = \pm \frac{1}{2}, Wprk\mathsf{W}^{\mathsf{k}}_{\mathrm{pr}} is not simple and the corresponding simple quotient is the symplectic fermion vertex algebra. We use this fact, along with inverse hamiltonian reduction, to study relaxed highest-weight and logarithmic modules for the small N=4N=4 superconformal algebra at central charges 9-9 and 3-3.

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Cite

@article{arxiv.2509.04795,
  title  = {The principal W-algebra of $\mathfrak{psl}_{2|2}$},
  author = {Zachary Fehily and Christopher Raymond and David Ridout},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.04795},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

20 pages, 4 figures, comments welcome! v2 is the authors' version and includes a new Theorem 2.2 on the simplicity of the algebra. v3 is the published version from Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and Applications