Poincare Polynomials and Level Rank Dualities in the N=2N=2 Coset Construction

We review the coset construction of conformal field theories; the emphasis is on the construction of the Hilbert spaces for these models, especially if fixed points occur. This is applied to the $N=2$ superconformal cosets constructed by Kazama and Suzuki. To calculate heterotic string spectra we reformulate the Gepner con- struction in terms of simple currents and introduce the so-called extended Poincar\'e polynomial. We finally comment on the various equivalences arising between models of this class, which can be expressed as level rank dualities. (Invited talk given at the III. International Conference on Mathematical Physics, String Theory and Quantum Gravity, Alushta, Ukraine, June 1993. To appear in Theor. Math. Phys.)Comment: 14 pages in LaTeX, HD-THEP-93-4

Automorphisms of the affine SU(3) fusion rules

We classify the automorphisms of the (chiral) level-k affine SU(3) fusion rules, for any value of k, by looking for all permutations that commute with the modular matrices S and T. This can be done by using the arithmetic of the cyclotomic extensions where the problem is naturally posed. When k is divisible by 3, the automorphism group (Z_2) is generated by the charge conjugation C. If k is not divisible by 3, the automorphism group (Z_2 x Z_2) is generated by C and the Altsch\"uler--Lacki--Zaugg automorphism. Although the combinatorial analysis can become more involved, the techniques used here for SU(3) can be applied to other algebras.Comment: 21 pages, plain TeX, DIAS-STP-92-4

On parity functions in conformal field theories

We examine general aspects of parity functions arising in rational conformal field theories, as a result of Galois theoretic properties of modular transformations. We focus more specifically on parity functions associated with affine Lie algebras, for which we give two efficient formulas. We investigate the consequences of these for the modular invariance problem.Comment: 18 pages, no figure, LaTeX2

Scaling functions from q-deformed Virasoro characters

We propose a renormalization group scaling function which is constructed from q-deformed fermionic versions of Virasoro characters. By comparison with alternative methods, which take their starting point in the massive theories, we demonstrate that these new functions contain qualitatively the same information. We show that these functions allow for RG-flows not only amongst members of a particular series of conformal field theories, but also between different series such as N=0,1,2 supersymmetric conformal field theories. We provide a detailed analysis of how Weyl characters may be utilized in order to solve various recurrence relations emerging at the fixed points of these flows. The q-deformed Virasoro characters allow furthermore for the construction of particle spectra, which involve unstable pseudo-particles.Comment: 31 pages of Latex, 5 figure

Kinks in the Kondo problem

We find the exact quasiparticle spectrum for the continuum Kondo problem of $k$ species of electrons coupled to an impurity of spin $S$. In this description, the impurity becomes an immobile quasiparticle sitting on the boundary. The particles are ``kinks'', which can be thought of as field configurations interpolating between adjacent wells of a potential with $k+1$ degenerate minima. For the overscreened case $k>2S$, the boundary has this kink structure as well, which explains the non-integer number of boundary states previously observed. Using simple arguments along with the consistency requirements of an integrable theory, we find the exact elastic $S$-matrix for the quasiparticles scattering among themselves and off of the boundary. This allows the calculation of the exact free energy, which agrees with the known Bethe ansatz solution.Comment: 9 pages +1 figur