Physics 287a

Problem Set 1
Due 9/26/14
1. Read Polchinski Sections 1.3 and 1.4.
2. Spinning String in Anti-de Sitter Space:
In class, we studied classical spinning strings in Minkowski space. We computed the energy E
and angular momentum J for a folded string which rigidly rotates at a xed angular velocity.
We found out that the energy can be expressed as a function of angular momentum as E(J).
Now we would like to extend our discussion to classical closed strings moving in d-dimensional
Anti-de Sitter space (AdS) with metric:
ds
2
= R
2

cosh
2
()dt
2
+ d
2
+ sinh
2
()d
2
d2

(1)
Derive expressions for E and J as integrals over the string and use these to evaluate the
leading term in the dierence E(J) J for large strings in AdS.
3. Special Conformal Transformations
The special conformal transformations in d-dimensional Euclidean space are
x

+ x
2
a

1 + 2a x + a
2
x
2
.
(2)
Although these transformations may look complicated at rst sight they are ubiquitous in
string theory and it is important to develop some intuition for them.
(a) Show that under special conformal transformations the at metric

transforms as:

f(x)

(3)
and nd explicitly the function f(x).
(b) Now consider specically 2-dimensional Euclidean space, and introduce complex coor-
dinates z = x
1
+ ix
2
. Find the functional form of special conformal transformations
in terms of z and determine the subgroup of the 2-d conformal group generated by
translations, rotations, dilations, and special conformal transformations.
4. bc CFT
In class we have described in detail various properties of the free boson CFT. We will see that
other CFTs also play an important role in the formulation of string theory. A particularly
relevant example is the bc CFT. This has anticommuting elds b and c with action:
S =
1
2

d
2
z b

c (4)
1
This theory is conformal with b a primary eld of weight (, 0) and c a primary eld of
weight (1 , 0). Use the Noether procedure to nd the energy-momentum tensor T(z) and
compute the central charge from the OPE of T(z)T(w).
Observe that when = 2 the central charge is 26.
5. Free fermion theory
Another vary important CFT is the theory of n left-moving free complex fermions
i
(z)
with the action
S =

d
2
z
i

i
, (5)
where
i
is the complex conjugate of
i
.
(a) Expand the fermions in oscillator modes (with 1/2 integral moding) and derive the
following 2-point functions:

i
(z)
j
(w)

=

j
i
z w
,

i
(z)
j
(w)

= 0 =
i
(z)
j
(w),
(6)
from the anti-commutation relations of the oscillators.
(b) This theory has a spin-1 primary operator J
i
j
(z) =:
i
(z)
j
(z) :. Decompose it into
oscillator modes and compute the commutation relations between dierent modes. In
particular, show that the zero modes form a U(n) Lie algebra (the inclusion of the
oscillator modes you have constructed promotes this to a U(n) ane Lie algebra).
(c) Compute the OPE of the primary operator J
i
j
(z) with itself.
(d) Use the Noether procedure to nd the energy-momentum tensor T(z) and compute the
central charge from the OPE of T(z)T(w).
(e) Repeat the steps (a) and (b) for the theory of n left-moving free real fermions. You
will discover a dierent Lie algebra structure. What is that Lie algebra?
2