Abstract In this chapter we discuss two explicit examples of conformal field theories. We start our analysis with the free massless bosonic theory that we have already seen in the previous chapter. After, we discuss the conformal field theory of a complex fermion operator (a Dirac fermion) using its decomposition in the real Majorana components. The central charge of both bosonic and fermion theories is c = 1 and this suggests the existence of an equivalence between them. The transformation that maps a bosonic into a fermion theory and vice versa is known as bosonization: it provides a useful tool both for the comprehension of the conformal theories and for a wide range of applications, in particular in low-dimensional condensed matter systems.
Abstract In this chapter we discuss two explicit examples of conformal field theories. We start our analysis with the free massless bosonic theory that we have already seen in the previous chapter. After, we discuss the conformal field theory of a complex fermion operator (a Dirac fermion) using its decomposition in the real Majorana components. The central charge of both bosonic and fermion theories is c = 1 and this suggests the existence of an equivalence between them. The transformation that maps a bosonic into a fermion theory and vice versa is known as bosonization: it provides a useful tool both for the comprehension of the conformal theories and for a wide range of applications, in particular in low-dimensional condensed matter systems.
Abstract Free theories are usually regarded as trivial examples of quantum systems. This chapter proves that this is not the case of the conformal field theories associated to the free bosonic and fermionic fields. The subject is not only full of beautiful mathematical identities but is also the source of deep physical concepts with far reaching applications. Chapter 12 also covers quantization of the bosonic field, vertex operators, the free bosonic field on a torus, modular transformations, the quantization of the free Majorana fermion, the Neveu–Schwarz and Ramond sectors, fermions on a torus, calculus for anti-commuting quantities and partition functions.
This article presents a systematic development of conformal field theory from first principles in quantum field theory, emphasizing complete derivations of the conformal group in arbitrary dimensions from the conformal Killing equation, proving its isomorphism to SO(d+1,1), and developing the embedding space formalism as a tool for constructing conformally covariant correlation functions constrained by Ward identities. In two dimensions, conformal symmetry enhances to an infinite-dimensional algebra: we derive the Virasoro algebra [Lm,Ln]=(m−n)Lm+n+12c(m3−m)δm+n,0 from infinitesimal generators ℓn=−zn+1∂z, computing the central charge explicitly for free theories (boson c=1, Majorana fermion c=1/2, bc-ghosts c=1−3(2λ−1)2) and demonstrating its physical interpretation as vacuum energy. Through radial quantization, we establish the operator-state correspondence and construct the Hilbert space via Virasoro descendants of primary states ∣h,hˉ⟩, deriving the transformation law T′(w)=(dw/dz)−2[T(z)−(c/12){w;z}] that reveals the geometric origin of the conformal anomaly.
The fundamentals of the conformal symmetry transformations in two dimensions are introduced. From the adapted \textit{Ward identities under conformal constraints}, the \textit{operator product expansion} (OPE) is defined for free fields and the energy momentum tensor (EM). After demonstrating how the energy momentum tensor transforms under conformal invariance, the notion of the \textit{central charge c} is defined. Conformal fields in two dimensions are \textit{radially} quantized on the cylinder within the framework of the second quantization of quantum field theory and are then mapped onto complex plane via a conformal mapping. The \textit{radial ordering} of conformal fields is adopted. The \textit{Virasoro algebra} is derived from the identification of the \textit{conformal generators}, which follow from relations between equal-time commutators and contour integrals of conformal fields. The radial quantization is applied to the free fermionic and bosonic fields, where for the latter the \textit{Vertex operator} is defined and specified. The Fock space of the free boson is constructed through the \textit{operator state correspondence}. Various boundary conditions are applied to free fields, and their effects on the ground-state energy density are detailed, leading to the notion of the \textit{Casimir energy}. The OPEs are regularized for the \textit{interacting} conformal fields, namely the E-M tensor, and the related definition of \textit{normal ordering} is revisited. Utilization of the Virasoro algebra led first to the \textit{descendant states} and subsequently to the \textit{conformal families}. The OPEs are generalized for the conformal families, and it is demonstrated how the three-point function coefficients may be obtained in terms of the two-point functions. The same procedure is employed generically through the definition of the \textit{conformal blocks}. The \textit{conformal Bootstrap method} is introduced to calculate the coefficients of n point functions. The Hilbert space of the conformal fields in two dimensions is formally constructed through the \textit{representation theory of Virasoro algebra}. Accordingly, the reducible and irreducible \textit{Verma modules} are specified. Due to the unitarity requirement of the Hilbert space, the famous \textit{Kac determinant} is introduced to obtain constraints on the inner products of the Verma modules, whence on the \textit{conformal weights} and the central charge. The decoupling of the \textit{null states} from rest of the their conformal families is used to obtain \textit{fusion rules} of the families. The \textit{Kac table} for the constrained conformal weights is constructed, and its analysis under the requirement of unitarity leads to the identification of the \textit{minimal models}. The correspondence between the discrete statistical systems at criticality and the minimal models is studied, where special attention is given on the \textit{Ising model}.
“Bosonization” refers to the possibility of describing a theory of relativistic Dirac fermions obeying standard anticommutation rules by a boson field theory. While this may be possible in all dimensions, it has so far proved most useful in d = 1, where the bosonic version of the given fermionic theory is local and simple, and often simpler than the Fermi theory. This chapter should be viewed as a stepping stone toward a more thorough approach, for which references are given at the end. In this chapter I will set up the bosonization machine, explaining its basic logic and the dictionary for transcribing a fermionic theory to a bosonic theory. The next chapter will be devoted to applications. To my knowledge, bosonization, as described here, was first carried out by Lieb and Mattis [1] in their exact solution of the Luttinger model [2]. Later, Luther and Peschel [3] showed how to use it to find asymptotic (low momentum and energy) correlation functions for more generic interacting Fermi systems. It was independently discovered in particle physics by Coleman [4], and further developed by Mandelstam [5]. Much of what I know and use is inspired by the work of Luther and Peschel. Preamble Before getting into any details, I would first like to answer two questions. First, if bosonization applies only to relativistic Dirac fermions, why is it of any interest to condensed matter theory where relativity is not essential? Second, what is the magic by which bosonization helps us tame interacting field theories? As for the first question, there are two ways in which Dirac fermions enter condensed matter physics. The first is in the study of two-dimensional Ising models, where we have already encountered them. Recall that if we use the transfer matrix approach and convert the classical problem on an N × N lattice to a quantum problem in one dimension we end up with a 2 N -dimensional Hilbert space, with a Pauli matrix at each of N sites. The two dimensions at each site represent the twofold choice of values open to the Ising spins. Consider now a spinless fermion degree of freedom at each site. Here too we have two choices: the fermion state is occupied or empty.
The fuzzy-sphere regularization is a powerful tool to study conformal field theories (CFT) in three spacetime dimensions. In this paper, we extend its scope to CFTs with local fermionic operators. We realize the free-Majorana-fermion CFT on a setup with one flavor of bosons and one flavor of fermions on the lowest Landau level with a 1 / 2 angular momentum mismatch and allow conversion between two bosons and two fermions, and use a relative chemical potential as the tuning parameter. On the phase diagram, we observe two continuous transitions described, respectively, by a free Majorana fermion and a gauged Ising CFT. We numerically confirm the emergent conformal symmetry through the operator spectrum and the two-point correlation function of the local Majorana fermion. We further establish a correspondence between the fuzzy-sphere models and the field-theory Lagrangians, and extend it to an interacting fermionic CFT—the super-Ising theory with emergent superconformal symmetry.
Bosonization is one of the most significant frameworks to analyze fermionic systems. In this work, we propose a new bosonization of Dirac fermion coupled with U(1) background gauge field. Our new bosonization is consistent with gauge invariance, global chiral anomaly matching and fermion-boson operator correspondence, either of which is not satisfied by previously developed bosonizations. The bilinear Dirac-mass term condensation paradox and its generalized form are resolved by our bosonization. This new bosonization approach to interacting systems also correctly captures the conformal characters of a significant class of critical lattice models, such as conformal dimensions and the conformal anomaly of XXZ spin chain with twisted boundary condition. Our work clarifies the equivalence of fermionic flux insertion and bosonic background charge insertion for two-dimensional conformal field theory.