In a two-dimensional supersymmetric conformal field theory, the superconformal current has weight and its self-OPE closes on the stress tensor and the central charge.
For RNS string matter normalized by and , put and . Then . The noncentral part of is . The distributional derivative identity , with a vanishing coincident Grassmann bilinear, converts this to . Use the chiral equation of motion to identify . Quantum normal ordering adds a central contact term proportional to , the local form of the N=1 super-Virasoro algebra central extension.
The holomorphic N=1 super-Virasoro algebra extends the Virasoro algebra by fermionic modes satisfying .
With the standard string oscillator algebra and , pairing positive and negative modes gives . This is the vacuum-normal-ordered Ramond sector generator , so . Rescaling the superconformal current rescales its square quadratically; its normalization cannot be ignored when comparing it with a fixed Virasoro generator.
Articles by others on the same topic
There are currently no matching articles.