Motivated by our subfactor generalization of Wall's conjecture, in this paper we determine all intermediate subfactors for conformal subnets corresponding to four infinite series of conformal inclusions, and as a consequence we verify that these series of subfactors verify our conjecture. Our results can be stated in the framework of Vertex Operator Algebras. We also verify our conjecture for Jones-Wassermann subfactors from representations of Loop groups extending our earlier results.
In this paper we present a conjecture on intermediate subfactors which is a generalization of Wall's conjecture from the theory of finite groups. Motivated by this conjecture, we determine all intermediate subfactors of Goodman-Harpe-Jones subfactors, and as a result we verify that Goodman-Harpe-Jones subfactors verify our conjecture. Our result also gives a negative answer to a question motivated by a conjecture of Aschbacher-Guralnick.
Conformal field theory (CFT) in two dimensions provide a rich source of subfactors. The fact that there are so many subfactors coming from CFT have led people to conjecture that perhaps all finite depth subfactors are related to CFT. In this paper we examine classes of subfactors from known CFT. In particular we identify the so called $3^{\Z_2\times \Z_2}$ subfactor with an intermediate subfactor from conformal inclusion, and construct new subfactors from recent work on holomorphic CFT with central charge $24$.
We give a precise definition for when a subfactor arises from a conformal net which can be motivated by classification of defects. We show that a subfactor $N \subset M$ arises from a conformal net if there is a conformal net whose representation category is the quantum double of $N\subset M$.
A Krishnan-Sunder subfactor $R_U ßR$ of index $k^2$ is constructed from a permutation biunitary matrix $U\in M_p(\mathbb{C})\otimes M_k(\mathbb{C})$, i.e. the entries of $U$ are either 0 or 1 and both $U$ and its block transpose are unitary. The author previously showed that every irreducible Krishnan-Sunder subfactor has an intermediate subfactor by exhibiting the associated Bisch projection. The author has also shown in a separate paper that the principal and dual graphs of the intermediate subfactor are the same as those of the subfactor $R^{\grp} ßR^{H}$, where $Hß\grp$ is an inclusion of …
In this paper, we explicitly work out the subfactor planar algebra $P^{(N \subset Q)}$ for an intermediate subfactor $N \subset Q \subset M$ of an irreducible subfactor $N \subset M$ of finite index. We do this in terms of the subfactor planar algebra $P^{(N \subset M)}$ by showing that if $T$ is any planar tangle, the associated operator $Z^{(N \subset Q)}_T$ can be read off from $Z^{(N \subset M)}_T$ by a formula involving the so-called {\em biprojection} corresponding to the intermediate subfactor $N \subset Q \subset M$ and a scalar $α(T)$ carefully chosen so as to ensure that the formula …
We describe the subfactor planar algebra of an intermediate subfactor $N\subset Q \subset M$ of an extremal subfactor $N\subset M$ of finite Jones index which is not necessarily irreducible.
We introduce a new notion of angle between intermediate subfactors and prove various interesting properties of the angle and relate it with the Jones' index. We prove a uniform 60 to 90 degree bound for the angle between minimal intermediate subfactors of a finite index irreducible subfactor. From this rigidity we can bound the number of minimal (or maximal) intermediate subfactors by the kissing number in geometry. As a consequence, the number intermediate subfactors of an irreducible subfactor has at most exponential growth with respect to the Jones index. This answers a question of Longo pu…
We prove that the very simple lattices which consist of a largest, a smallest and $2n$ pairwise incomparable elements where $n$ is a positive integer can be realized as the lattices of intermediate subfactors of finite index and finite depth. Using the same techniques, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for subfactors coming from Loop groups of type $A$ at generic levels to be maximal.
Given a quadruple of finite index subfactors we explicitly compute the Pimsner-Popa probabilistic constant for the pair of intermediate subfactors and relate it with the corresponding Connes-Størmer relative entropy between them. This generalizes an old result of Pimsner and Popa.
Surprisingly Richard Thompson's groups have recently appeared in Jones' subfactor theory. Vaughan Jones is famous for linking theories that are a priori completely disconnected; for instance, his celebrated polynomial for links emanating from subfactor theory. This note is about a new beautiful story in mathematics which results from a fortunate accident in the land of quantum field theory.
In this lecture we explain the intimate relationship between modular invariants in conformal field theory and braided subfactors in operator algebras. Our analysis is based on an approach to modular invariants using braided sector induction ("$α$-induction") arising from the treatment of conformal field theory in the Doplicher-Haag-Roberts framework. Many properties of modular invariants which have so far been noticed empirically and considered mysterious can be rigorously derived in a very general setting in the subfactor context. For example, the connection between modular invariants and gra…
We consider noncommuting pairs P,Q of intermediate subfactors of an irreducible, finite-index inclusion N in M of II_1 factors such that P and Q are supertransitive with Jones index less than 4 over N. We show that up to isomorphism of the standard invariant, there is a unique such pair corresponding to each even value [P:N]=4cos^2(pi/2n) but none for the odd values [P:N]=4cos^2 (pi/(2n+1)). We also classify the angle values which occur between pairs of intermediate subfactors with small index over their intersection: if [P:N] < 4, then the unique nontrivial angle value is always cos^-1 (1/([P…
In these lectures we explain the intimate relationship between modular invariants in conformal field theory and braided subfactors in operator algebras. A subfactor with a braiding determines a matrix $Z$ which is obtained as a coupling matrix comparing two kinds of braided sector induction ("alpha-induction"). It has non-negative integer entries, is normalized and commutes with the S- and T-matrices arising from the braiding. Thus it is a physical modular invariant in the usual sense of rational conformal field theory. The algebraic treatment of conformal field theory models, e.g. $SU(n)_k$ m…
We investigate a (potentially infinite) series of subfactors, called $3^n$ subfactors, including $A_4$, $A_7$, and the Haagerup subfactor as the first three members corresponding to $n=1,2,3$. Generalizing our previous work for odd $n$, we further develop a Cuntz algebra method to construct $3^n$ subfactors and show that the classification of the $3^n$ subfactors and related fusion categories is reduced to explicit polynomial equations under a mild assumption, which automatically holds for odd $n$.In particular, our method with $n=4$ gives a uniform construction of 4 finite depth subfactors, u…
A braided subfactor determines a coupling matrix Z which commutes with the S- and T-matrices arising from the braiding. Such a coupling matrix is not necessarily of "type I", i.e. in general it does not have a block-diagonal structure which can be reinterpreted as the diagonal coupling matrix with respect to a suitable extension. We show that there are always two intermediate subfactors which correspond to left and right maximal extensions and which determine "parent" coupling matrices Z^\pm of type I. Moreover it is shown that if the intermediate subfactors coincide, so that Z^+=Z^-, then Z i…
Let $N \subset M$ be an irreducible inclusion of type type II$_1$ factors with finite Jones index. We shall introduce the notion of normality for intermediate subfactors of the inclusion $N \subset M$. If the depth of $N \subset M$ is 2, then an intermediate subfactor $K$ for $N \subset M$ is normal in $ N \subset M$ if and only if the depths of $N \subset K$ and $K \subset M$ are both 2. In particular, if $M$ is the crossed product $N \rtimes G$ of a finite group $G$, then $K = N \rtimes H$ is normal in $N \subset M$ if and only if $H$ is a normal subgroup of $G$.
If $N \subset P,Q \subset M$ are type II_1 factors with $N' \cap M = C id$ and $[M:N]$ finite we show that restrictions on the standard invariants of the elementary inclusions $N \subset P$, $N \subset Q$, $P \subset M$ and $Q \subset M$ imply drastic restrictions on the indices and angles between the subfactors. In particular we show that if these standard invariants are trivial and the conditional expectations onto $P$ and $Q$ do not commute, then $[M:N]$ is 6 or $6 + 4\sqrt 2$. In the former case $N$ is the fixed point algebra for an outer action of $S_3$ on $M$ and the angle is $π/3$, and …
Conformal inclusions of chiral conformal field theories, or more generally inclusions of quantum field theories, are described in the von Neumann algebraic setting by nets of subfactors, possibly with infinite Jones index if one takes non-rational theories into account. With this situation in mind, we study in a purely subfactor theoretical context a certain class of braided discrete subfactors with an additional commutativity constraint, that we call locality, and which corresponds to the commutation relations between field operators at space-like distance in quantum field theory. Examples of…
Braided subfactors of von Neumann algebras provide a framework for studying two dimensional conformal field theories and their modular invariants. We review this in the context of SU(3) conformal field theories through corresponding SU(3) braided subfactors and various subfactor invariants including spectral measures for the nimrep graphs, A_2-planar algebras and almost Calabi-Yau algebras.
We study actions of locally compact groups on von Neumann factors and the associated crossed-product von Neumann algebras. In the setting of totally disconnected groups we provide sufficient conditions on an action $G\curvearrowright Q$ ensuring that the inclusion $Q \subset Q \rtimes G$ is irreducible and that every intermediate subfactor is of the form $Q \rtimes H$ for a closed subgroup $H<G$. This partially generalizes a result of Izumi-Longo-Popa [ILP98] and Choda [Ch78]. We moreover show that one can not hope to use their strategy for non-discrete groups.
Given an irreducible local conformal net A of von Neumann algebras on the circle and a finite-index conformal subnet B of A, we show that A is completely rational iff B is completely rational. In particular this extends a result of F. Xu for the orbifold construction. By applying previous results of Xu, many coset models turn out to be completely rational and the structure results in [KLM] hold. Our proofs are based on an analysis of the net inclusion B in A; among other things we show that, for a fixed interval I, every von Neumann algebra R intermediate between B(I) and A(I) comes from an in…
We describe the structure of the inclusions of factors A(E) contained in A(E')' associated with multi-intervals E of R for a local irreducible net A of von Neumann algebras on the real line satisfying the split property and Haag duality. In particular, if the net is conformal and the subfactor has finite index, the inclusion associated with two separated intervals is isomorphic to the Longo-Rehren inclusion, which provides a quantum double construction of the tensor category of superselection sectors of A. As a consequence, the index of A(E) in A(E')' coincides with the global index associated…
In this paper we discuss a conjecture on intermediate subfactors which is a generalization of Wall's conjecture from the theory of finite groups. We explore special cases of this conjecture and present supporting evidence. In particular we prove special cases of this conjecture related to some finite dimensional Kac Algebras of Izumi-Kosaki type which include relative version of Wall's conjecture for solvable groups.
We make a review on the recent progress in the operator algebraic approach to (super)conformal field theory. We discuss representation theory, classification results, full and boundary conformal field theories, relations to supervertex operator algebras and Moonshine, connections to subfactor theory and noncommutative geometry.
We give an exposition on the current status of classification of operator algebraic conformal field theories. We explain roles of complete rationality and alpha-induction for nets of subfactors in such a classification and present the current classification result, a joint work with R. Longo, for the case with central charge less than 1, where we have a complete classification list consisting of the Virasoro nets, their simple current extensions of index 2, and four exceptionals. Two of the four exceptionals appear to be new.
All unitary Rational Conformal Field Theories (RCFT) are conjectured to be related to unitary coset Conformal Field Theories, i.e., gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) models with compact gauge groups. In this paper we use subfactor theory and ideas of algebraic quantum field theory to approach coset Conformal Field Theories. Two conjectures are formulated and their consequences are discussed. Some results are presented which prove the conjectures in special cases. In particular, one of the results states that a class of representations of coset $W_N$ ($N\geq 3$) algebras with critical parameters …
A quadrilateral of factors is an irreducible inclusion of factors $N \subset M$ with intermediate subfactors $P$ and $Q$ such that $P$ and $Q$ generate $M$ and the intersection of $P$ and $Q$ is $N$. We investigate the structure of a non-commuting quadrilateral of factors with all the elementary inclusions $P\subset M$, $Q\subset M$, $N\subset P$, and $N\subset Q$ 2-supertransitive. In particular we classify such quadrilaterals with the indices of the elementary subfactors less than or equal to 4. We also compute the angles between $P$ and $Q$ for quadrilaterals coming from $α$-induction and a…
We prove a conjecture about mininmal index of certain representations of Coset Algebraic Conformal Field Theories under general conditions as formulated previously by us. As a by-product, the Kac-Wakimoto Conjecture (KWC) which is related to the asympotics of the coset characters is true under the same conditions. The same idea in the proof also proves a recent conjecture related to subfactors from conformal inclusions.
