2004/11/30 by John Cardy · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #hep-th
published as Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics, (Elsevier, 2006) · 17 pages, 2 figures; v.2: corrected ghastly mistake in Eq. (41), and a missing author reference
arxiv created 2008/02/20 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
Boundary conformal field theory (BCFT) is simply the study of conformal field theory (CFT) in domains with a boundary. It gains its significance because, in some ways, it is mathematically simpler: the algebraic and geometric structures of CFT appear in a more straightforward manner; and because it has important applications: in string theory in the physics of open strings and D-branes, and in condensed matter physics in boundary critical behavior and quantum impurity models. In this article, however, I describe the basic ideas from the point of view of quantum field theory, without regard to particular applications nor to any deeper mathematical formulations.