Title: A geometric approach to constructing conformal nets
Speaker: James Tener (University of California Santa Barbara)
Abstract: Conformal nets and vertex operator algebras are distinct mathematical axiomatizations of roughly the same physical idea: a two-dimensional chiral conformal field theory. Conformal nets are operator algebraic objects, while vertex operator algebras have more of a geometric and algebraic flavor. By comparing the two axiomatizations, we can explore connections between operator algebras and geometry. In particular, I will present recent work in which local operators in conformal nets are realized as "boundary values" of vertex operators. This construction exhibits many operator algebraic features of conformal nets (e.g. subfactors, their Jones indices, and their fusion rules) in terms of the geometry of vertex operator algebras.
