This is an elementary introduction to the basics ingredients of (two-dimensional) conformal field theory, intended to be as self-contained as a 2-hour lecture possibly can. Although the language used might be mostly from a condensed matter theory context, it could nevertheless be beneficial for a broader audience, not the least for seeing how a field theory can be formulated without perturbative calculations. Only a good understanding of statistical mechanics is necessary to follow the lecture.
The following topics will be covered:
1. Scaling and conformal invariance
2. Conformal mapping
3. Operator product expansion
4. Stress-energy tensor
5. Virasora algebra
6. Minimal models (time permitting)
Main references:
1. J. Cardy, Conformal Field Theory and Statistical Mechanics (arXiv:0807.3472)
2. J. Cardy, Conformal Invariance and Statistical Mechanics (Les Houches lecture, 1988)
Further reading:
P. Ginsparg, Applied Conformal Field Theory (Les Houches lecture, 1988)
This event is part of the master lecture series organized by the Section for Theoretical Physics.