Affine lie algebras in massive field theory and form factors from vertex operators

A. LeClair

Teoretičeskaâ i matematičeskaâ fizika, Tome 98 (1994) no. 3, pp. 430-441

Résumé

We present a new application of affine Lie algebras to massive quantum field theory in 2 dimensions, by investigating the $q\to 1$ limit of the $q$-deformed affine $\widehat {sl(2)}$ symmetry of the sine-Gordon theory, this limit occurring at the free fermion point. Working in radial quantization leads to a quasi-chiral factorization of the space of fields. The conserved charges which generate the affine Lie algebra split into two independent affine algebras on this factorized space, each with level 1 in the anti-periodic sector, and level 0 in the periodic sector. The space of fields in the anti-periodic sector can be organized using level-$1$ highest weight representations, if one supplements the ${\widehat {sl(2)}}$ algebra with the usual local integrals of motion. Introducing a particle-field duality leads to a new way of computing form-factors in radial quantization. Using the integrals of motion, a momentum space bosonization involving vertex operators is formulated. Form-factors are computed as vacuum expectation values of vertex operators in momentum space.