= Two-dimensional quantum-gravity interpretation of strings
The <Polyakov path integral> integrates over <string worldsheet> metrics as well as embedding fields, modulo <worldsheet diffeomorphisms> and <Weyl transformations>. Summing surface topologies gives perturbative <two-dimensional quantum gravity> coupled to the coordinate matter fields. Gauge fixing retains <worldsheet moduli> and introduces ghosts; a conformal gauge is locally flat, not a global flat metric on every genus. Cancellation of the <worldsheet Weyl anomaly> makes the critical bosonic version consistent.
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