Related papers: Pseudo Limits, Biadjoints, and Pseudo Algebras: Ca…

String backgrounds are described as purely geometric objects related to moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces, in the spirit of Segal's definition of a conformal field theory. Relations with conformal field theory, topological field theory and…

As an example of the categorical apparatus of pseudo algebras over 2-theories, we show that pseudo algebras over the 2-theory of categories can be viewed as pseudo double categories with folding or as appropriate 2-functors into…

Conformal algebras, recently introduced by Kac, encode an axiomatic description of the singular part of the operator product expansion in conformal field theory. The objective of this paper is to develop the theory of ``multi-dimensional''…

Given two conformal field theories related to each other by a marginal perturbation, and string field theories constructed around such backgrounds, we show how to construct explicit redefinition of string fields which relate these two…

In this paper, we give a general axiomatization of anomalies in closed and open conformal field theories. In particular, we generalize Segal's notion of modular functor to a setting where the ``set of labels'' is a 2-vector space. In the…

This is a set of lecture notes on the operator algebraic approach to 2-dimensional conformal field theory. Representation theoretic aspects and connections to vertex operator algebras are emphasized. No knowledge on operator algebras or…

This survey discusses our results and conjectures concerning supersymmetric field theories and their relationship to cohomology theories. A careful definition of supersymmetric Euclidean field theories is given, refining Segal's axioms for…

Pseudoaffine theories are characterized by formal replacement of the level to the fractional number: $k\to\frac{k}{q}$, where $q$ is integer strange to $k(g+k)$ ($g$ - dual Coxeter number). An example of "forbidden" $q$ is considered…

We review various aspects of two dimensional conformal field theories paying close attention to the algebraic structures that intervene. We provide a compact description regarding the appearance of a chiral algebra as the symmetry algebra…

In this note we provide a gentle introduction to the concepts and intuition behind the recent breakthrough results on the mathematically rigorous construction of a non-trivial 2D conformal field theory, namely the so-called Liouville…

This is an elementary review of our recent work on the classification of the spectra of those two-dimensional rational conformal field theories (RCFTs) whose (maximal) chiral algebras are current algebras. We classified all possible…

We explain the basics of conformal theory using the language of chiral algebras of Beilinson and Drinfeld.

Every conformal field theory has the symmetry of taking each field to its adjoint. We consider here the quotient (orbifold) conformal field theory obtained by twisting with respect to this symmetry. A general method for computing such…

The role of automorphisms of infinite-dimensional Lie algebras in conformal field theory is examined. Two main types of applications are discussed; they are related to the enhancement and reduction of symmetry, respectively. The structures…

One of the algebraic structures that has emerged recently in the study of the operator product expansions of chiral fields in conformal field theory is that of a Lie conformal algebra [K]. A Lie pseudoalgebra is a generalization of the…

This paper is a rather informal guide to some of the basic theory of 2-categories and bicategories, including notions of limit and colimit, 2-dimensional universal algebra, formal category theory, and nerves of bicategories. As is the way…

We describe a finitary 2-monad on a locally finitely presentable 2-category for which not every pseudoalgebra is equivalent to a strict one. This shows that having rank is not a sufficient condition on a 2-monad for every pseudoalgebra to…

The main result of this paper is the construction of a conformally covariant operator in two dimensions acting on scalar fields and containing fourth order derivatives. In this way it is possible to derive a class of Lagrangians invariant…

Pseudo conformal field theories are theories with the same fusion rules, but with different modular matrix as some conventional field theory. One of the authors defined these and conjectured that, for bosonic systems, they can all be…

We introduce the formalism of differential conformal superalgebras, which we show leads to the "correct" automorphism group functor and accompanying descent theory in the conformal setting. As an application, we classify forms of N=2 and…