Open-closed modular operads, the cardy condition and string field theory (Q1731731): Difference between revisions

The paper [\textit{B. Zwiebach}, ``Closed string field theory: quantum action and the Batalin-Vilkovisky master equation'', Nuclear Phys. B, 390, No. 1, 33--152 (1993; \url{doi:10.1016/0550-3213(93)90388-6})] constructed string products on the Hilbert space of closed string field theory abiding by the master equation which reflected the structure of the $\mathcal{QC}$\ of diffeomorphism classes of Riemann surfaces of arbitaray genera with labelled holes. The first author of this paper authored by the two (Markl and Doubek) established in [\textit{M. Markl}, Commun. Math. Phys. 221, No. 2, 367--384 (2001; Zbl 1016.55005)] that the master equation reflected the fact that the string products form an algebra over the Feynman transform of $\mathcal{QC}$, that is to say, \[ \mathcal{QC}=\mathrm{Mod}\left( \mathcal{C}om\right) \] while the second author of this paper established a similar result for open strings in [Zbl 1397.18002] by identifying the modular operad $\mathcal{QO} $\ of diffeomorphism classes of Riemann surfaces with marked open boundaries with the modular completion of its genus zero part $\mathcal{A}ss$, namely, \[ \mathcal{QO}=\mathrm{Mod}\left( \mathcal{A}ss\right) \] The first authos of this paper argued, as a follow-up to [\textit{M. Kianpi} and \textit{C. Nkuimi-Jugnia}, J. Algebra Appl. 17, No. 5, Article ID 1850097, 26 p. (2018; Zbl 1397.18002)], that $\mathcal{QO}$ is no other than the symmetrization of a more elementary entity $\mathcal{Q}$\underline{$\mathcal{O}$}\ bearing the structure of a non-$\Sigma$ modular operad, establishing \[ \mathcal{Q}\underline{\mathcal{O}}=\underline{\mathrm{Mod}}\left( \underline{\mathcal{A}ss}\right) \] where $\underline{\mathcal{A}ss}$\ is the non-$\Sigma$\ version of the associative cyclic operad and $\underline{\mathrm{Mod}}\left( \underline {}\right) $\ the non-$\Sigma$\ modular completion functor. This paper completes the story by establishing analogs of the results mentioned above for the combined theory of open and closed strings, in which the central object is the set $\mathcal{Q}\underline{\mathcal{O}}\mathcal{C} $ of diffeomorphism classes of Riemann surfaces with both open and closed inputs, behaving as a non-$\Sigma$-modular operad in the open and as an ordinary modular operad in the closed inputs. Betraying expectations, $\mathcal{Q}\underline{\mathcal{O}}\mathcal{C}$\ is not the modular completion of its genus $0$ part $\underline{\mathcal{O}}\mathcal{C}$\ but the quotient of the completion by the \textit{Cardy conditions} [\textit{J. L. Cardy} and \textit{D. C. Lewellen}, ``Bulk and boundary operators in conformal field theory'', Phys. Lett. B, 259, No. 3, 274--278 (1991; \url{doi:10.1016/0370-2693(91)90828-E})], [\textit{A. D. Lauda} and \textit{H. Pfeiffer}, Topology Appl. 155, No. 7, 623--666 (2008; Zbl 1158.57038)], that is to say, \[ \mathcal{Q}\underline{\mathcal{O}}\mathcal{C}=\underline{\mathrm{Mod}}\left( \underline{\mathcal{O}}\mathcal{C}\right) /\mathrm{Cardy} \] As a dividend, a purely combinatorial proof of a result in [\textit{R. M. Kaufmann} and \textit{R. C. Penner}, Nucl. Phys., B 748, No. 3, 335--379 (2006; Zbl 1214.32004)] characterizing algebras over a version of $\mathcal{Q}\underline{\mathcal{O} }\mathcal{C}$\ in terms of morphisms of Frobenius algebras.