Abstract: (arXiv)
Recently, a new approach, based on boundary conformal field theory, has been applied to a variety of quantum impurity problems in condensed matter and particle physics. A particularly enlightening example is the multi-channel Kondo problem. In this review some earlier approaches to the Kondo problem are discussed, the needed material on boundary conformal field theory is developed and then this new method is applied to the multi-channel Kondo problem.
  • lectures: Zakopane 1995/06/04
  • field theory: conformal
  • Kondo effect
  • renormalization group
  • current algebra
  • screening
  • spectrum: finite size
  • liquid
  • bosonization
  • boundary condition