- Open Access
Interpolating conformal algebra in () dimensions between the instant form and the light-front form of relativistic dynamics
Phys. Rev. D 113, 096018 – Published 26 May, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/prlq-4j1l
Abstract
We present the interpolating conformal algebra between the instant form dynamics (IFD) and the light-front dynamics (LFD) in () dimensions, along with a interpolating projective spacetime matrix representation. While there are six generators in the ()-dimensional conformal algebra, the number of kinematic and dynamic generators dramatically changes in LFD, maximizing (minimizing) the number of kinematic (dynamic) generators to four (two) with respect to two (four) kinematic (dynamic) generators in IFD, as well as in any other forms of dynamics between IFD and LFD. It confirms and signifies the utility of LFD, saving substantial dynamical efforts in solving the ()-dimensional quantum field theories. We also present Pauli matrix representation of () and () conformal groups and creation/annihilation operators of quantum simple harmonic oscillator representations of ()-dimensional conformal groups.
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Article Text
References (37)
- J. Wess, The conformal invariance in quantum field theory, Nuovo Cimento (1955–1965) 18, 1086 (1960).
- H. A. Kastrup, Conformal group in space-time, Phys. Rev. 142, 1060 (1966).
- G. Mack and A. Salam, Finite component field representations of the conformal group, Ann. Phys. (N.Y.) 53, 174 (1969).
- D. J. Gross and J. Wess, Scale invariance, conformal invariance, and the high-energy behavior of scattering amplitudes, Phys. Rev. D 2, 753 (1970).
- S. Weinberg, Six-dimensional methods for four-dimensional conformal field theories, Phys. Rev. D 82, 045031 (2010).
- S. J. Brodsky, G. F. de Téramond, H. G. Dosch, and J. Erlich, Light-front holographic QCD and emerging confinement, Phys. Rep. 584, 1 (2015).
- J. Maldacena, D. Stanford, and Z. Yang, Conformal symmetry and its breaking in two-dimensional nearly anti-de sitter space, Prog. Theor. Exp. Phys. 2016, 12C104 (2016).
- E. Cunningham, The principle of relativity in electrodynamics and an extension thereof, Proc. London Math. Soc. s2–8, 77 (1910).
- H. Bateman, The transformation of the electrodynamical equations, Proc. London Math. Soc. s2–8, 223 (1910).
- P. A. M. Dirac, Wave equations in conformal space, Ann. Math. 37, 429 (1936).
- F. Gürsey, On a conform-invariant spinor wave equation, Nuovo Cimento (1955–1965) 3, 988 (1956).
- T. Fulton, F. Rohrlich, and L. Witten, Conformal invariance in physics, Rev. Mod. Phys. 34, 442 (1962).
- K. G. Wilson, Non-lagrangian models of current algebra, Phys. Rev. 179, 1499 (1969).
- H. Kastrup, On the advancements of conformal transformations and their associated symmetries in geometry and theoretical physics, Ann. Phys. (Berlin) 520, 631 (2008).
- R. Jackiw, Two-Dimensional Conformal Transformations Represented by Quantum Fields in Minkowski Space-Time, in Physics and Mathematics of Strings, (World Scientific, Singapore, 1990), pp. 317–355.
- C. Ji, Relativistic Quantum Invariance, Lecture Notes in Physics (Springer Nature, Singapore, 2023).
- P. Di Francesco, P. Mathieu, and D. Sénéchal, Global Conformal Invariance, in Conformal Field Theory (Springer, New York, 1997), pp. 95–110.
- R. Blumenhagen and E. Plauschinn, Basics in Conformal Field Theory, in Introduction to Conformal Field Theory: With Applications to String Theory (Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2009), pp. 5–86.
- V. de Alfaro, S. Fubini, and G. Furlan, Conformal invariance in quantum mechanics, Il Nuovo Cimento A (1965-1970) 34, 569 (1976).
- W. Pauli, Matrix Mechanics, in General Principles of Quantum Mechanics (Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 1980), pp. 54–66.
- R. J. Glauber, Coherent and incoherent states of the radiation field, Phys. Rev. 131, 2766 (1963).
- H. Umezawa, H. Matsumoto, and M. Tachiki, Thermo Field Dynamics and Condensed States (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1982).
- P. A. M. Dirac, Forms of relativistic dynamics, Rev. Mod. Phys. 21, 392 (1949).
- S. J. Brodsky, H.-C. Pauli, and S. S. Pinsky, Quantum chromodynamics and other field theories on the light cone, Phys. Rep. 301, 299 (1998).
- S. Brodsky, Light-front QCD, arXiv:hep-ph/0412101.
- A. Harindranath, An introduction to light-front dynamics for pedestrians, in Light-Front Quantization and Non-Perturbative QCD, edited by J. P.Vary and F. Wölz (International Institute of Theoretical and Applied Physics, Ames, Iowa, 1998), pp. 1–35.
- C.-R. Ji and C. Mitchell, Poincaré invariant algebra from instant to light-front quantization, Phys. Rev. D 64, 085013 (2001).
- G. ’t Hooft, A two-dimensional model for mesons, Nucl. Phys. B75, 461 (1974).
- B. Ma and C.-R. Ji, Interpolating ’t Hooft model between instant and front forms, Phys. Rev. D 104, 036004 (2021).
- K. Hornbostel, Nontrivial vacua from equal time to the light cone, Phys. Rev. D 45, 3781 (1992).
- C.-R. Ji and S.-J. Rey, Light-front view of the axial anomaly, Phys. Rev. D 53, 5815 (1996).
- C.-R. Ji and A. T. Suzuki, Interpolating scattering amplitudes between the instant form and the front form of relativistic dynamics, Phys. Rev. D 87, 065015 (2013).
- C.-R. Ji, Z. Li, and A. T. Suzuki, Electromagnetic gauge field interpolation between the instant form and the front form of the hamiltonian dynamics, Phys. Rev. D 91, 065020 (2015).
- Z. Li, M. An, and C.-R. Ji, Interpolating helicity spinors between the instant form and the light-front form, Phys. Rev. D 92, 105014 (2015).
- C.-R. Ji, Z. Li, B. Ma, and A. T. Suzuki, Interpolating quantum electrodynamics between instant and front forms, Phys. Rev. D 98, 036017 (2018).
- C.-R. Ji, Relativistic quantum invariance of QED and QCD, Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. (2025).
- C.-R. Ji and H. Ravikumar, Interpolating conformal algebra in (1+1) dimensions between the instant form and the light-front form of relativistic dynamics, arXiv:2601.19251.