Boundary Conditions in Rational Conformal Field Theories

Roger E. Behrend, Paul A. Pearce, Valentina B. Petkova, Jean-Bernard Zuber

Published 1999-08-04, updated 2000-04-13Version 3

We develop further the theory of Rational Conformal Field Theories (RCFTs) on a cylinder with specified boundary conditions emphasizing the role of a triplet of algebras: the Verlinde, graph fusion and Pasquier algebras. We show that solving Cardy's equation, expressing consistency of a RCFT on a cylinder, is equivalent to finding integer valued matrix representations of the Verlinde algebra. These matrices allow us to naturally associate a graph $G$ to each RCFT such that the conformal boundary conditions are labelled by the nodes of $G$. This approach is carried to completion for $sl(2)$ theories leading to complete sets of conformal boundary conditions, their associated cylinder partition functions and the $A$-$D$-$E$ classification. We also review the current status for WZW $sl(3)$ theories. Finally, a systematic generalization of the formalism of Cardy-Lewellen is developed to allow for multiplicities arising from more general representations of the Verlinde algebra. We obtain information on the bulk-boundary coefficients and reproduce the relevant algebraic structures from the sewing constraints.