Semi-infinite cohomology in conformal field theory and 2D gravity (Q687744)

On the basis of a perceptive analysis of the main methods of homological algebra applied for computing the semi-infinite cohomology which arises in the BRST quantization of two-dimensional conformal field theory, this paper obtains a generalization of the reduction theorem concerning semi- infinite cohomology of Lie algebras which allows to project out subspaces of a module by first tensoring it with a suitable highest weight module and then computing the BRST cohomology on the product module. In this way, it is solved an important technical problem of the BRST quantization of conformal field theory, namely the straightforward computing of semi-infinite cohomology for general coset models G/H without ever restoring an explicit realization of the Wakimoto modules. This method is compared with that elaborated in 2D gravity, where an analogous cohomological characterization of Feigin-Fuchs modules does not exist unless they are isomorphic with the Verma module or its dual; in the framework of 2D gravity coupled to \(c<1\) conformal matter, by the same method is obtained a simplified derivation of the so-called discrete states of the BRST physical spectrum.