Rational conformal field theory
Encyclopedia
In theoretical physics
, rational conformal field theory is a special type of conformal field theory
with a finite number of conformal primaries
. In these theories, all dimensions (and the central charge) are rational number
s that can be computed from the consistency conditions of conformal field theory. The most famous examples are the so-called minimal models
.
Theoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
, rational conformal field theory is a special type of conformal field theory
Conformal field theory
A conformal field theory is a quantum field theory that is invariant under conformal transformations...
with a finite number of conformal primaries
Primary field
In theoretical physics, a primary field is a field operator in quantum field theory - especially conformal field theory or a theory with supersymmetry - that is invariant under the positive frequency modes of the Virasoro algebra - or under one half of the supersymmetries and superconformal...
. In these theories, all dimensions (and the central charge) are rational number
Rational number
In mathematics, a rational number is any number that can be expressed as the quotient or fraction a/b of two integers, with the denominator b not equal to zero. Since b may be equal to 1, every integer is a rational number...
s that can be computed from the consistency conditions of conformal field theory. The most famous examples are the so-called minimal models
Minimal models
In theoretical physics, the minimal models are a very concrete well-defined type of rational conformal field theory. The individual minimal models are parameterized by two integers p,q that are moreover related for the unitary minimal models. The first element of the sequence of the minimal models...
.