For primary operators of holomorphic weights and a Möbius transformation invariant vacuum, infinitesimal translations, dilations and special conformal transformations give , , and . Solving gives a constant one-point function only at , a two-point function only for equal weights, and a three-point function . Three-point covariance imposes no further equality of weights; dynamical selection rules may still force . For more points, arbitrary functions of conformal cross-ratios remain.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 51 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let denote the ordered vacuum correlator. Inserting the vacuum-preserving Möbius transformation operator and its inverse givesFor , the three vector fields yield the global conformal Ward identities for chiral correlatorsAll formulas below concern separated insertion points and a consistent local choice of branches for fractional powers.
For one insertion, the translation identity makes constant and the dilation identity gives . ThusFor two insertions, translation invariance gives , where . Dilations imply , so . Substituting into the special conformal identity leaves . Thereforewith when the weights differ.
For three insertions write . Under a Möbius transformation, with compatible local branches. The covariance condition therefore fixesSolving givesThis is the complete solution because Möbius transformations act transitively on ordered triples of distinct points: the ratio of any two covariant nonzero solutions has no remaining invariant variable and is constant. Three-point covariance imposes no equality or triangle inequality among the weights. Additional fusion rules or other symmetries may force , but none follow from the stated covariance and vacuum assumptions alone.
For more than three generic points, three positions may be fixed by a Möbius transformation, leaving independent complex conformal cross-ratios. Correlators consequently have a covariant prefactor multiplied by an arbitrary function of these invariants. For example one convenient four-point form isThe Möbius invariance of the cross-ratio guarantees covariance for any . Thus global conformal symmetry fixes one-, two- and three-point functions up to constants, but does not fix higher-point functions. Their remaining functions encode dynamics.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 354 1 a Solution 2026-09-29
Four distinct points in a conformal field theory with possess two independent conformal cross-ratios, conventionallyTranslations, rotations, dilations, and special conformal transformations can map three points to canonical positions , a point on one chosen axis, and the point at infinity in a conformal completion. The fourth point retains one radial coordinate and one angle relative to that axis. Those two quantities are equivalent to and ; the stabilizer rotations remove all its remaining angular coordinates.
For identical scalar primary operators of dimension , conformal covariance fixes a kinematic prefactor and leaves an arbitrary function :for one common convention. Since a generic conformal field theory has unrestricted dynamical dependence on both cross-ratios, no lower-dimensional set determines the function. Therefore