Download or read book W-Symmetry written by P Bouwknegt and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 1995-01-10 with total page 904 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: W-symmetry is an extension of conformal symmetry in two dimensions. Since its introduction in 1985, W-symmetry has become one of the central notions in the study of two-dimensional conformal field theory. The mathematical structures that underlie W-symmetry are so-called W-algebras, which are higher-spin extensions of the Virasoro algebra. This book contains a collection of papers on W-symmetry, covering the period from 1985 through 1993. Its main focus is the construction of W-algebras and their representation theory. A recurrent theme is the intimate connection between W-algebras and affine Lie algebras. Some of the applications, in particular W-gravity, are also covered. The significance of this reprint volume is that there are no textbooks entirely devoted to the subject. Contents:History and BackgroundClassical W-Algebras and Their Connection to Toda Field TheoriesQuantum W-AlgebrasQuantum Drinfel'd-Sokolov ReductionCoset ConstructionsW∞ Type AlgebrasW-Gravity and W-Strings Readership: Students and researchers in the field of conformal field theory. keywords:Conformal Symmetry;Conformal Field Theory;Virasoro Algebra;Extended Symmetry;W-Symmetry;W-Algebra;W-String;Drinfeld-Sokolov Reduction;Toda Theory;Coset Construction “The researcher who wants to get acquainted with W-symmetry now has a good selection of important papers at a low cost at his/her disposal … Experts may be more interested in some of the less widely available background papers, and the (updated) reference list.” Journal of Classical and Quantum Gravity