Black hole physics and Liouville theory

May, 1991
21 pages
Published in:
  • Nucl.Phys.B 368 (1992) 338-358
  • Published: 1992
Report number:
  • EFI-91-22

Citations per year

1991199920072015202305101520
Abstract: (Elsevier)
Hamiltonian path integral quantization of the SO(2, 1)/SO(2) and SO(2, 1)/SO(1, 1) gauged WZW models is considered. The SO(2, 1)/SO(2) model yields the Liouville theory coupled to a free scalar field theory after eliminating the group coordinates in favor of their conjugate momenta. The SO(2, 1)/SO(1, 1) model, recently argued to be a two-dimensional black-hole solution to string theory, can also be studied in momentum space. The resulting negative-metric Liouville-like theory has indefinite cosmological constant, is coupled to a positive-metric free scalar field, and lives on a Minkowski world sheet. The scaling variable |μ| of Liouville theory is related to the mass of the black hole. The connection to Liouville theory should provide the exact solution for correlation functions in the euclidean black-hole geometry using matrix models and Liouville theory; for the Lorentz-signature Schwarzschild geometry it gives us a tool to investigate the properties of singularities in string theory.
  • Wess-Zumino-Witten model
  • quantization: path integral
  • field theory: Liouville
  • black hole
  • string model
  • gauge field theory
  • zero mode
  • matrix model
  • coset space: SO(2,1)/SO(2)
  • coset space: SO(2,1)/SO(1,1)