Vertex algebras

Prof. Ramakrishnan Ramadas


Number of cycles: 1

Second semester

The course will be an introduction to conformal field theory, avoiding formal power series to the extent possible.

Synopsis: We will define the following chiral CFTs - bosons, fermions, current algebras - and then present relations between them. We will construct the vertex algebra structures in each case and (time permitting) conformal blocks. The idea is to equip ourselves to understand the computations in the books of Kac or Ben-Zvi and Frenkel.

Pre-requisites: some familiarity with Riemann surfaces and function theory on the unit disc. Also, definitions and basics of the representation theory of the Virasoro and affine Lie algebras.