We show that the central charge of the Liouville and ADE Toda theories can be reproduced by equivariantly integrating the anomaly eight-form of the corresponding six-dimensional N=(0,2) theories, which describe the low-energy dynamics of M5-branes.
We reconsider dyonic p-brane solutions derivable from Liouville and Toda integrable systems and investigate their geometric structure. It is shown that the non-BPS non-black dyonic branes are not regular on the horizon.
We study conformal boundary conditions and corresponding one-point functions of the N=2 super-Liouville theory using both conformal and modular bootstrap methods. We have found both continuous (`FZZT-branes') and discrete (`ZZ-branes') boundary conditions. In particular, we identify two different types of the discrete ZZ-brane solutions, which are associated with degenerate fields of the N=2 super-Liouville theory.
The defects and permutation branes for the Liouville field theory are considered. By exploiting cluster condition, equations satisfied by permutation branes and defects reflection amplitudes are obtained. It is shown that two types of solutions exist, discrete and continuous families.
Invariance under non-linear ${\sf {\hat W}}_{\infty}$ algebra is shown for the two-boson Liouville type of model and its algebraic generalizations, the extended conformal Toda models. The realization of the corresponding generators in terms of two boson currents within KP hierarchy is presented.
We study the general form of the equations for isotropic single-scalar, multi-scalar and dyonic $p$-branes in superstring theory and M-theory, and show that they can be cast into the form of Liouville, Toda (or Toda-like) equations. The general solutions describe non-extremal isotropic $p$-branes, reducing to the previously-known extremal solutions in limiting cases. In the non-extremal case, the dilatonic scalar fields are finite at the outer event horizon.
We reformulate the Omega-deformation of four-dimensional gauge theory in a way that is valid away from fixed points of the associated group action. We use this reformulation together with the theory of coisotropic A-branes to explain recent results linking the Omega-deformation to integrable Hamiltonian systems in one direction and Liouville theory of two-dimensional conformal field theory in another direction.
These lecture notes review current progress on the class of conformal theories which may be studied by quantizing the conformal Toda dynamics. After summarizing recent developments in undertanding the quantum group structure of the Liouville theory, one recalls how classically, two-dimensional black holes come out from the non-abelian Toda systems, and reviews the geometrical interpretation of the classical $A_n$-Toda theories, just put forward, that relates W-geometries with the external geometries of holomorphic surfaces in complex projective spaces.
We exhibit bound states in the spectrum of non-compact D-branes in N=2 Liouville conformal field theory. We interpret these states in the study of D-branes in the near-horizon limit of Neveu-Schwarz five-branes spread on a topologically trivial circle. We match semi-classical di-electric and repulsion effects with exact conformal field theory results and describe the fate of D-branes hitting NS5-branes. We also show that the bound states can give rise to massless vector and hyper multiplets in a low-energy gauge theory on D-branes deep inside the throat.
Making use of the N=2 Liouville theory and world-sheet techniques, we study the properties of D-branes wrapped around vanishing SUSY cycles of singular Calabi-Yau n-folds (n=2,3,4). After constructing boundary states describing the wrapped branes, we evaluate the disc amplitudes corresponding to the periods of SUSY cycles. We use the old technique of KPZ scaling in Liouville theory and derive holomorphicity and scaling behavior of vanishing cycles which are in agreement with geometrical considerations. We also discuss the open string Witten index using the N=2 Liouville theory and obtain the i…
Within a Liouville approach to non-critical string theory, we argue for a non-trivial commutation relation between space and time observables, leading to a non-zero space-time uncertainty relation $δx δt > 0$, which vanishes in the limit of weak string coupling.
We construct correlators in the $W_4$ Toda 2d conformal field theory for a particular class of representations and demonstrate a relation to a $W_2$ (Virasoro) theory with different central charge. The relevance of the classical limits of the constructed 3-point functions and braiding matrices to problems in 4d conformal theories is discussed.
The general properties of a class of two-dimensional dilaton gravity (DG) theories with multi-exponential potentials are studied and a subclass of these theories, in which the equations of motion reduce to Toda and Liouville equations, is treated in detail. A combination of parameters of the equations should satisfy a certain constraint that is identified and solved for the general model. It follows that in DG the integrable Toda equations, generally, cannot appear without accompanying Liouville equations. The most difficult problem in the two-dimensional Toda-Liouville DG is to solve the ener…
General properties of a class of two-dimensional dilaton gravity (DG) theories with multi-exponential potentials are studied and a subclass of these theories, in which the equations of motion reduce to Toda and Liouville equations, is treated in detail. A combination of parameters of the equations should satisfy a certain constraint that is identified and solved for the general multi-exponential model. From the constraint it follows that in DG theories the integrable Toda equations, generally, cannot appear without accompanying Liouville equations. We also show how the wave-like solutions of t…
We study D-branes in the mirror pair N=2 Liouville / supersymmetric SL(2,R)/U(1) coset superconformal field theories. After revisiting the duality between the two models, we build D0, D1 and D2 branes, on the basis of the boundary state construction for the Euclidean AdS(3) conformal field theory. We also construct D0-branes in an orbifold that rotates the angular direction of the cigar. We show how the poles of correlators associated to localized states and bulk interactions naturally decouple in the one-point functions of localized and extended branes. We stress the role played in the analys…
We study the Liouville theory on a Riemann surface of genus g by means of their associated Drinfeld--Sokolov linear systems. We discuss the cohomological properties of the monodromies of these systems. We identify the space of solutions of the equations of motion which are single--valued and local and explicitly represent them in terms of Krichever--Novikov oscillators. Then we discuss the operator structure of the quantum theory, in particular we determine the quantum exchange algebras and find the quantum conditions for univalence and locality. We show that we can extend the above discussion…
We propose that N M5-branes, put on R^4/Z_m with deformation parameters epsilon_{1,2}, realize two-dimensional theory with SU(m)_N symmetry and m-th para-W_N symmetry. This includes the standard W_N symmetry for m=1 and super-Viraroro symmetry for m=N=2. We provide a small check of this proposal by calculating the central charge of the 2d theory from the anomaly polynomial of the 6d theory.
Liouville and Toda gravity theories with non-vanishing interaction potentials have spectra obtained by dividing the free-field spectra for these cases by the Weyl group of the corresponding $A_1$ or $A_2$ Lie algebra. We study the canonical transformations between interacting and free fields using the technique of intertwining operators, giving explicit constructions for the wavefunctions and showing that they are invariant under the corresponding Weyl groups. These explicit constructions also permit a detailed analysis of the operator-state maps and of the nature of the Seiberg bounds.
The role played by the Euler anomaly in the dictionary relating sphere partition functions of four dimensional theories of class $\mathcal{S}$ and two dimensional nonrational CFTs is clarified. On the two dimensional side, this involves a careful treatment of scale factors in Liouville/Toda correlators. Using ideas from tinkertoy constructions for Gaiotto duality, a framework is proposed for evaluating these scale factors. The representation theory of Weyl groups plays a critical role in this framework.
We argue that topological matrix models (matrix models of the Kontsevich type) are examples of exact open/closed duality. The duality works at finite N and for generic `t Hooft couplings. We consider in detail the paradigm of the Kontsevich model for two-dimensional topological gravity. We demonstrate that the Kontsevich model arises by topological localization of cubic open string field theory on N stable branes. Our analysis is based on standard worldsheet methods in the context of non-critical bosonic string theory. The stable branes have Neumann (FZZT) boundary conditions in the Liouville …
We study certain relevant boundary perturbations of Liouville theory and discuss implications of our results for the brane dynamics in noncritical string theories. Our results include (i) There exist monodromies in the parameter $μ_{\rm B}$ of the Neumann-type boundary condition that create an admixture represented by the Dirichlet type boundary condition. (ii) Certain renormalization group flows can be studied perturbatively, which allows one to determine the results of the corresponding brane decays. (iii) There exists a simple renormalization group flow that can be calculated exactly. In al…
We discuss some aspects of Liouville field theory, starting from operator equation of motion in presence of two screening charges and re-derive the dual zero mode Schwinger Dyson equations for the two screening charges from the path integral. Using functional methods we show the familiar pole structure of Liouville correlation function using the partition function. Next we discuss a generalized structure of the correlation functions obtained from the zero mode functional equations. From this structure we infer the use of the Barnes double Gamma functions to construct a part of the denominator …
The presence of the antisymmetric background field $B_{μν}$ leads to the noncommutativity of the Dp-brane manifold, while the linear dilaton field in the form $Φ(x)=Φ_0+a_μx^μ$, causes the appearance of the commutative Dp-brane coordinate, $x_c=a_μx^μ$. In the present article we consider the case where the conformal invariance is realized by inclusion of the Liouville term. Then, the theory is conformally invariant even in the presence of the world sheet conformal factor $F$, and it depends on the new parameter, the central charge $c$. As well as in the absence of the Liouville action, for par…
We study open strings in the noncritical $c=1$ bosonic string theory compactified on a circle at self-dual radius. These strings live on D-branes that are extended along the Liouville direction ({\it FZZT} branes). We present explicit expressions for the disc two- and three-point functions of boundary operators in this theory, as well as the bulk-boundary two-point function. The expressions obtained are divergent because of resonant behaviour at self-dual radius. However, these can be regularised and renormalized in a precise way to get finite results. The boundary correlators are found to dep…
We study instanton contribution to the partition function of the one matrix model in the k-th multicritical region, which corresponds to the (2,2k-1) minimal model coupled to Liouville theory. The instantons in the one matrix model are given by local extrema of the effective potential for a matrix eigenvalue and identified with the ZZ branes in Liouville theory. We show that the 2-instanton contribution in the partition function is universal as well as the 1-instanton contribution and that the connected part of the 2-instanton contribution reproduces the annulus amplitudes between the ZZ brane…
We study the boundary N=2 Liouville theory based on the ``modular bootstrap'' approach. As fundamental conformal blocks we introduce the ``extended characters'' that are defined as the proper sums over spectral flows of irreducible characters of the N=2 superconformal algebra (SCA) and clarify their modular transformation properties in models with rational central charges. We then try to classify the Cardy states describing consistent D-branes based on the modular data. We construct the analogues of ZZ-branes (hep-th/0101152), localized at the strong coupling region, and the FZZT-branes (hep-t…
Correlation functions of Toda field vertices are investigated by applying the method of integrating zero-mode developed for Liouville theory. We generalize the relations among the zero-, two- and three-point couplings known in Liouville case to arbitrary Toda theories. Two- and three-point functions of Toda vertices associated with the simple roots are obtained.
We present our recent studies on the dynamics of boundary N=2 Liouville theory. We use the representation theory of N=2 superconformal algebra and the method of modular bootstrap to derive three classes of boundary states of the N=2 Liouville theory. Class 1 and 2 branes are analogues of ZZ and FZZT branes of N=0,1 Liouville theory while class 3 branes come from U(1) degrees of freedom. We compare our results with those of SL(2;R)/U(1) supercoset which is known to be T-dual to N=2 Liouville theory and describes the geometry of 2d black hole. We find good agreements with known results in SL(2;R…
We revisit the annulus amplitude of FZZT branes with general matter sectors (r,s) using the recent development of matrix model and minimal Liouville gravity. Following the boundary description of the 1-matrix model and bulk resonance transformation between primary operators we find the consistency of the brane decomposition into (1,1)-branes. We also investigate the corresponding results obtained directly from the minimal Liouville gravity and demonstrate the perfect agreement with the matrix results.
I show how the AdS2 D-branes in the Euclidean AdS3 string theory are related to the continuous D-branes in Liouville theory. I then propose new discrete D-branes in the Euclidean AdS3 which correspond to the discrete D-branes in Liouville theory. These new D-branes satisfy the appropriate shift equations. They give rise to two families of discrete D-branes in the 2d black hole, which preserve different symmetries.
An sp-brane can be viewed as the creation and decay of an unstable D(p+1)-brane. It is argued that the decaying half of an sp-brane can be described by a variant of boundary Liouville theory. The pair creation of open strings by a decaying s-brane is studied in the minisuperspace approximation to the Liouville theory. In this approximation a Hagedorn-like divergence is found in the pair creation rate, suggesting the s-brane energy is rapidly transferred into closed string radiation.
We propose a relation between correlation functions in the 2d A_{N-1} conformal Toda theories and the Nekrasov instanton partition functions in certain conformal N=2 SU(N) 4d quiver gauge theories. Our proposal generalises the recently uncovered relation between the Liouville theory and SU(2) quivers. New features appear in the analysis that have no counterparts in the Liouville case.
Composite S-brane solutions in multidimensional gravity with scalar fields and fields of forms related to Toda-like systems are presented. These solutions are defined on a product manifold R_{*} x M_1 x ... x M_n, where R_{*} is a time manifold, M_1 is an Einstein manifold and M_i (i > 1) are Ricci-flat manifolds. Certain examples of S-brane solutions related to A_1 + ... + A_1, A_m Toda chains and those with "block-orthogonal" intersections (e.g. SM-brane solutions) are singled out. Under certain restrictions imposed a Kasner-like asymptotical behaviour of the solutions is shown.
Solutions in multidimensional gravity with m p-branes related to Toda-like systems (of general type) are obtained. These solutions are defined on a product of n+1 Ricci-flat spaces M_0 x M_1 x...x M_n and are governed by one harmonic function on M_0. The solutions are defined up to the solutions of Laplace and Toda-type equations and correspond to null-geodesics of the (sigma-model) target-space metric. Special solutions relating to A_m Toda chains (e.g. with m =1,2) are considered.
We point out that insertions of matrix fields in (connected amputated) amplitudes of (generalized) Kontsevich models are given by covariant derivatives with respect to the Kontsevich moduli. This implies that correlators are sections of symmetric products of the (holomorphic) tangent bundle on the (complexified) moduli space of FZZT Liouville branes. We discuss the relation of Kontsevich parametrization of moduli space with that provided by either the (p,1) or the (1,p) boundary conformal field theories. It turns out that the Kontsevich connection captures the contribution of contact terms to …
We have argued previously that black holes may be represented in a D-brane approach by monopole and vortex defects in a sine-Gordon field theory model of Liouville dynamics on the world sheet. Supersymmetrizing this sine-Gordon system, we find critical behaviour in 11 dimensions, due to defect condensation that is the world-sheet analogue of D-brane condensation around an extra space-time dimension in M theory. This supersymmetric description of Liouville dynamics has a natural embedding within a 12-dimensional framework suggestive of F theory.
The c=1 Liouville theory has received some attention recently as the Euclidean version of an exact rolling tachyon background. In an earlier paper it was shown that the bulk theory can be identified with the interacting c=1 limit of unitary minimal models. Here we extend the analysis of the c=1-limit to the boundary problem. Most importantly, we show that the FZZT branes of Liouville theory give rise to a new 1-parameter family of boundary theories at c=1. These models share many features with the boundary Sine-Gordon theory, in particular they possess an open string spectrum with band-gaps of…
The large order growth of string perturbation theory in $c\le 1$ conformal field theory coupled to world sheet gravity implies the presence of $O(e^{-{1\over g_s}})$ non-perturbative effects, whose leading behavior can be calculated in the matrix model approach. Recently it was proposed that the same effects should be reproduced by studying certain localized D-branes in Liouville Field Theory, which were constructed by A. and Al. Zamolodchikov. We discuss this correspondence in a number of different cases: unitary minimal models coupled to Liouville, where we compare the continuum analysis to …
We review recent developments (up to January 2004) of the Liouville field theory and its matrix model dual. This review consists of three parts. In part I, we review the bosonic Liouville theory. After briefly reviewing the necessary background, we discuss the bulk structure constants (the DOZZ formula) and the boundary states (the FZZT brane and the ZZ brane). Various applications are also presented. In part II, we review the supersymmetric extension of the Liouville theory. We first discuss the bulk structure constants and the branes as in the bosonic Liouville theory, and then we present th…
We generalize the Lax pair and Bäcklund transformations for Liouville and Toda field theories as well as their supersymmetric generalizations, to the case of arbitrary Riemann surfaces. We make use of the fact that Toda field theory arises naturally and geometrically in a restriction of so called $W$--geometry to ordinary Riemannian geometry. This derivation sheds light on the geometrical structure underlying complete integrability of these systems. (Invited talk presented at the 877th meeting of the American Mathematical Society, USC, November 1992 and at the YITP workshop ``Directions on Qua…
It was recently observed that boundary correlators of the elementary scalar field of the Liouville theory on AdS$_2$ background are the same (up to a non-trivial proportionality coefficient) as the correlators of the chiral stress tensor of the Liouville CFT on the complex plane restricted to the real line. The same relation generalizes to the conformal abelian Toda theory: boundary correlators of Toda scalars on AdS$_2$ are directly related to the correlation functions of the chiral $\mathcal W$-symmetry generators in the Toda CFT and thus are essentially controlled by the underlying infinite…
The Fateev-Zamolodchikov-Zamolodchikov (FZZ) duality relates Witten's cigar model to sine-Liouville theory. This duality was proven in the path integral formulation and extended to the case of higher genus closed Riemann surfaces by Schomerus and one of the authors. In this note we further extend the duality to the case with boundary. Specifically, we relate D1-branes in the cigar model to D2-branes in the sine-Liouville theory. In particular, the boundary action for D2-branes in the sine-Liouville theory is constructed. We also consider the fermionic version of the FZZ duality. This duality w…
The effective p-brane action approach is generalized for arbitrary scalar field and applied for the Liouville theory near a particle-like solution. It was established that this theory has the remarkable features discriminating it from the theories studied earlier. Removing zero modes we obtain the effective action describing the solution as a point particle with curvature, quantize it as the theory with higher derivatives and calculate the quantum corrections to mass.
We interpret the matrix boundaries of the one matrix model (1MM) recently constructed by two of the authors as an outcome of a relation among FZZT branes. In the double scaling limit, the 1MM is described by the (2,2p+1) minimal Liouville gravity. These matrix operators are shown to create a boundary with matter boundary conditions given by the Cardy states. We also demonstrate a recursion relation among the matrix disc correlator with two different boundaries. This construction is then extended to the two matrix model and the disc correlator with two boundaries is compared with the Liouville …
Large classes of AdS$_p$ supergravity backgrounds describing the IR dynamics of $p$-branes wrapped on a Riemann surface are determined by a solution to the Liouville equation. The regular solutions of this equation lead to the well-known wrapped brane supergravity solutions associated with the constant curvature metric on a compact Riemann surface. We show that some singular solutions of the Liouville equation have a physical interpretation as explicit point-like brane sources on the Riemann surface. We uncover the details of this picture by focusing on $\mathcal{N}=1$ theories of class $\math…
We present a consistent derivation of the recently proposed 5D anisotropic standing wave braneworld generated by gravity coupled to a phantom-like scalar field. We explicitly solve the corresponding junction conditions, a fact that enables us to give a physical interpretation to the anisotropic energy-momentum tensor components on the brane. So matter on the brane represents an oscillating fluid which emits anisotropic waves into the bulk. We also analyze the Sturm-Liouville problem associated to the correct localization condition of the transverse to the brane metric and scalar fields. It is …
We develop quantization aspects of our Liouville approach to non-critical strings, proposing a path-integral formulation of a second quantization of string theory, that incorporates naturally the couplings of string sources to background fields. Such couplings are characteristic of macroscopic string solutions and/or $D$-brane theories. Resummation over world-sheet genera in the presence of stringy ($σ$-model) soliton backgrounds, and recoil effects associated with logarithmic operators on the world sheet, play a crucial rôle in inducing such sources as well-defined renormalization-group count…
We consider unoriented strings in the supersymmetric SL(2,R)/U(1) coset, which describes the two-dimensional Euclidean black hole, and its mirror dual N=2 Liouville theory. We analyze the orientifolds of these theories from several complementary points of view: the parity symmetries of the worldsheet actions, descent from known AdS_3 parities, and the modular bootstrap method (in some cases we can also check our results against known constraints coming from the conformal bootstrap method). Our analysis extends previous work on orientifolds in Liouville theory, the AdS_3 and SU(2) WZW models an…
In this note, we consider the equations of motion for charged branes in AdS space and show that they can be cast into one-dimensional coupled Toda type. Then we solve the equations of motion to construct static charged AdS brane solutions which are invariant under translation along $p$ directions and have toroidal symmetry. The solutions are described by mass, charges and a dilaton coupling constant.
We generalize the football shaped extra dimensions scenario to an arbitrary number of branes. The problem is related to the solution of the Liouville equation with singularities and explicit solutions are presented for the case of three branes. The tensions of the branes do not need to be tuned with each other but only satisfy mild global constraints.
We analyze exactly the simplest minimal superstring theory, using its dual matrix model. Its target space is one dimensional (the Liouville direction), and the background fields include a linear dilaton, a possible tachyon condensate, and RR flux. The theory has both charged and neutral branes, and these exhibit new and surprising phenomena. The smooth moduli space of charged branes has different weakly coupled boundaries in which the branes have different RR charges. This new duality between branes of different charges shows that the semiclassical notion of localized charge is not precise in …
In this paper we discuss various aspects of non-compact models of CFT of the type: $ \prod_{j=1}^{N_L} {N=2 Liouville theory}_j \otimes \prod_{i=1}^{N_M} {N=2 minimal model}_i $ and $ \prod_{j=1}^{N_L}{SL(2;R)/U(1) supercoset}_j \otimes \prod_{i=1}^{N_M} {N=2 minimal model}_i $. These models are related to each other by T-duality. Such string vacua are expected to describe non-compact Calabi-Yau compactifications, typically ALE fibrations over (weighted) projective spaces. We find that when the Liouville ($SL(2;R)/U(1)$) theory is coupled to minimal models, there exist only (c,c), (a,a) ((c,a)…
In analogy with the Liouville case we study the $sl_3$ Toda theory on the lattice and define the relevant quadratic algebra and out of it we recover the discrete $W_3$ algebra. We define an integrable system with respect to the latter and establish the relation with the Toda lattice hierarchy. We compute the the relevant continuum limits. Finally we find the quantum version of the quadratic algebra.
The partition function of a family of four dimensional N=2 gauge theories has been recently related to correlation functions of two dimensional conformal Toda field theories. For SU(2) gauge theories, the associated two dimensional theory is A_1 conformal Toda field theory, i.e. Liouville theory. For this case the relation has been extended showing that the expectation value of gauge theory loop operators can be reproduced in Liouville theory inserting in the correlators the monodromy of chiral degenerate fields. In this paper we study Wilson loops in SU(N) gauge theories in the fundamental an…
The low energy effective actions which arise from string theory or M-theory are considered in the cosmological context, where the graviton, dilaton and antisymmetric tensor field strengths depend only on time. We show that previous results can be extended to include cosmological solutions that are related to the E_N Toda equations. The solutions of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation in minisuperspace are obtained for some of the simpler cosmological models by introducing intertwining operators that generate canonical transformations which map the theories into free theories. We study the cosmological…
We construct the boundary ground ring in c < 1 open string theories with non-zero boundary cosmological constant (FZZT brane), using the Coulomb gas representation. The ring relations yield an over-determined set of functional recurrence equations for the boundary correlation functions, which involve shifts of the target space momenta of the boundary fields as well as the boundary parameters on the different segments of the boundary.
In this article we explore the duality between the low energy effective theory of five-dimensional N=1 SU(N)^{M-1} and SU(M)^{N-1} linear quiver gauge theories compactified on S^1. The theories we study are the five-dimensional uplifts of four-dimensional superconformal linear quivers. We study this duality by comparing the Seiberg-Witten curves and the Nekrasov partition functions of the two dual theories. The Seiberg-Witten curves are obtained by minimizing the worldvolume of an M5-brane with nontrivial geometry. Nekrasov partition functions are computed using topological string theory. The …
We derive non-abelian Toda field theories (NATFTs) from a 4d Chern-Simons (CS) theory with two order defects by employing a certain asymptotic boundary condition. The 4d CS theory is characterized by a meromorphic 1-form $ω$\,. We adopt $ω$ with two simple poles and no zeros, and each of the order defects is located at each pole. As a result, an anisotropy parameter $β^2$ can be identified with the distance between the two defects. As examples, we can derive the (complex) sine-Gordon model and the Liouville theory.