Fusion of conformal interfaces
Abstract
Description
We study the fusion of conformal interfaces in the c=1 conformal field theory. We uncover an elegant structure reminiscent of that of black holes in supersymmetric theories. The role of the BPS black holes is played by topological interfaces, which (a) minimize the entropy function, (b) fix through an attractor mechanism one or both of the bulk radii, and (c) are (marginally) stable under splitting. One significant difference is that the conserved charges are logarithms of natural numbers, rather than vectors in a charge lattice, as for BPS states. Besides potential applications to condensed-matter physics and number theory, these results point to the existence of large solution-generating algebras in string theory.
28 pages, 4 figures. Minor clarifications in v2. Sign Mistakes corrected and reference added in v3
28 pages, 4 figures. Minor clarifications in v2. Sign Mistakes corrected and reference added in v3