Related papers: Parafermions, $W$ Strings and their BRST Charges
We present a review of the status of $W$ string theories, their physical spectra, and their interactions. (Based on review talks given at the Trieste Spring Workshop, and the Strings 93 meeting at Berkeley, May 1993.)
BRST operators for two-dimensional theories with spin-2 and spin-$s$ currents, generalising the $W_3$ BRST operator of Thierry-Mieg, have previously been obtained. The construction was based on demanding nilpotence of the BRST operators,…
Within a BRST formulation, we determine the expressions of the consistent anomaly for superstrings with extended worldsheet supersymmetries of rank N. We consider the O(N) superconformal algebras up to N=4, as well as the `small N=4'…
We consider a BRST approach to G/H coset WZNW models, {\it i.e.} a formulation in which the coset is defined by a BRST condition. We will give the precise ingrediences needed for this formulation. Then we will prove the equivalence of this…
We present a perturbative study of Ramond-Ramond backgrounds in the NSR formalism. We show how to perform sigma-model computations and discuss in detail the structure of the BRST charge and picture-changing operators. Contact terms play a…
We show how to gauge the set of raising and lowering generators of an arbitrary Lie algebra. We consider SU(N) as an example. The nilpotency of the BRST charge requires constraints on the ghosts associated to the raising and lowering…
A method for the calculation of the BRST cohomology, recently developed for 2D gravity theory and the bosonic string in the Beltrami parametrization,is generalised to the superstring theories quantized in super-Beltrami parametrization.
In gauge theories like the standard model, the electric charges of the fermions can be heavily constrained from the classical structure of the theory and from the cancellation of anomalies. There is however mounting evidence suggesting that…
We construct new multi-field realisations of the $N=2$ super-$W_3$ algebra, which are important for building super-$W_3$ string theories. We derive the structure of the ghost vacuum for such theories, and use the result to calculate the…
A class of non-supersymmetric string backgrounds can be constructed using twists that involve space-time fermion parity. We propose a non-perturbative definition of string theory in these backgrounds via gauge theories with supersymmetry…
We investigate the gauging of conformal algebras with relations between the generators. We treat the $W_{5/2}$--algebra as a specific example. We show that the gauge-algebra is in general reducible with an infinite number of stages. We show…
The interpretation of the apparent unification of gauge couplings within supersymmetric theories depends on uncertainties induced through heavy particle thresholds. While in standard grand unified theories these effects can be estimated…
The BRST-anti-BRST covariant extension is suggested for the split involution quantization scheme for the second class constrained theories. The constraint algebra generating equations involve on equal footing a pair of BRST charges for…
We compute RR charges of D2-branes on a background with H-field which belongs to a nontrivial cohomology class. We discover that the RR charge depends on the configuration of the background `electric' RR field. This result explains the…
Relativistic charge distributions of targets with arbitrary average momentum are introduced. They provide an interpolation between the usual Breit frame and infinite-momentum frame distributions. We find that Breit frame distributions can…
The charges of the twisted D-branes of certain WZW models are determined. The twisted D-branes are labelled by twisted representations of the affine algebra, and their charge is simply the ground state multiplicity of the twisted…
In order to unify the methods which have been applied to various topics such as BRST theory of constraints, Poisson brackets of local functionals, and certain developments in deformation theory, we formulate a new concept which we call the…
We discuss fractional D3-branes on the orbifold C^3/Z_2*Z_2. We study the open and the closed string spectrum on this orbifold. The corresponding N=1 theory on the brane has, generically, a U(N_1)*U(N_2)*U(N_3)*U(N_4) gauge group with…
We present a procedure for constructing actions describing propagation of W-strings on group manifolds by using the Hamiltonian canonical formalism and representations of W-algebras in terms of Kac-Moody currents. An explicit construction…
In this paper we investigate the unitarity of gauged non-compact WZNW strings i.e. string theories formulated as G/H' WZNW models, where G is a non-compact group. These models represent string theories on non-trivial curved space-times with…