The Heat Kernel on AdS_3 and its Applications

We derive the heat kernel for arbitrary tensor fields on S^3 and (Euclidean) AdS_3 using a group theoretic approach. We use these results to also obtain the heat kernel on certain quotients of these spaces. In particular, we give a simple, explicit expression for the one loop determinant for a field of arbitrary spin s in thermal AdS_3. We apply this to the calculation of the one loop partition function of N=1 supergravity on AdS_3. We find that the answer factorizes into left- and right-moving super Virasoro characters built on the SL(2, C) invariant vacuum, as argued by Maloney and Witten on general grounds.Comment: 46 pages, LaTeX, v2: Reference adde

Character Expansions for the Orthogonal and Symplectic Groups

Formulas for the expansion of arbitrary invariant group functions in terms of the characters for the Sp(2N), SO(2N+1), and SO(2N) groups are derived using a combinatorial method. The method is similar to one used by Balantekin to expand group functions over the characters of the U(N) group. All three expansions have been checked for all N by using them to calculate the known expansions of the generating function of the homogeneous symmetric functions. An expansion of the exponential of the traces of group elements, appearing in the finite-volume gauge field partition functions, is worked out for the orthogonal and symplectic groups.Comment: 20 pages, in REVTE

Generalized Kazakov-Migdal-Kontsevich Model: group theory aspects

The Kazakov-Migdal model, if considered as a functional of external fields, can be always represented as an expansion over characters of $GL$ group. The integration over "matter fields" can be interpreted as going over the {\it model} (the space of all highest weight representations) of $GL$. In the case of compact unitary groups the integrals should be substituted by {\it discrete} sums over weight lattice. The $D=0$ version of the model is the Generalized Kontsevich integral, which in the above-mentioned unitary (discrete) situation coincides with partition function of the $2d$ Yang-Mills theory with the target space of genus $g=0$ and $m=0,1,2$ holes. This particular quantity is always a bilinear combination of characters and appears to be a Toda-lattice $\tau$-function. (This is generalization of the classical statement that individual $GL$ characters are always singular KP $\tau$-functions.) The corresponding element of the Universal Grassmannian is very simple and somewhat similar to the one, arising in investigations of the $c=1$ string models. However, under certain circumstances the formal sum over representations should be evaluated by steepest descent method and this procedure leads to some more complicated elements of Grassmannian. This "Kontsevich phase" as opposed to the simple "character phase" deserves further investigation.Comment: 29 pages, UUITP-10/93, FIAN/TD-07/93, ITEP-M4/9