The algebraic structure of relative twisted vertex operators (Q1916431)

Relative untwisted vertex operators had been studied by the authors in [Generalized vertex algebras and relative vertex operators, Prog. Math. 112, Birkhäuser, Boston (1993; Zbl 0803.17009)] where, among other things, the essential equivalence between the \(Z\)-algebras and parafermion algebras was clarified. In the paper under review the authors study relative twisted vertex operators based on isometries of rational lattices; a basic role in their construction is played by a quadratic operator \(\Delta_z\). Relative twisted vertex operators are parametrized by the untwisted space and a generalized twisted Jacobi identity is established for them. A corresponding representation of the Virasoro algebra is also studied. The obtained results include as a special case the proof of the main relations announced in [the second author, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82, 8295--8299 (1985; Zbl 0579.17010)]. Another special case of this construction corresponds to the twisted parafermion algebras of [\textit{A. B. Zamolodchikov} and \textit{V. A. Fateev}, Disorder fields in two-dimensional conformal quantum field theory and \(N=2\) extended supersymmetry, Sov. Phys. JETP 63, 913--919 (1986)].