Classical codes and chiral CFTs at higher genus

• Published in: The journal of high energy physics 2022-05, Vol.2022 (5), p.159-48, Article 159
• Main Authors: Henriksson, Johan, Kakkar, Ashish, McPeak, Brian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Classical and Quantum Gravitation; Codes; Conformal and W Symmetry; Degeneration; Differential and Algebraic Geometry; Elementary Particles; Error correcting codes; Error correction; Error correction & detection; High energy physics; Invariance; Mathematical analysis; Partitions (mathematics); Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Polynomials; Quantum Field Theories; Quantum Field Theory; Quantum Physics; Regular Article - Theoretical Physics; Relativity Theory; Riemann surfaces; Scale and Conformal Symmetries; String Theory; Symmetry
• ISSN: 1029-8479; 1029-8479
• DOI: 10.1007/JHEP05(2022)159

A bstract Higher genus modular invariance of two-dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs) is a largely unexplored area. In this paper, we derive explicit expressions for the higher genus partition functions of a specific class of CFTs: code CFTs, which are constructed using classical error-correcting codes. In this setting, the Sp(2 g, ℤ) modular transformations of genus g Riemann surfaces can be recast as a simple set of linear maps acting on 2 g polynomial variables, which comprise an object called the code enumerator polynomial. The CFT partition function is directly related to the enumerator polynomial, meaning that solutions of the linear constraints from modular invariance immediately give a set of seemingly consistent partition functions at a given genus. We then find that higher genus constraints, plus consistency under degeneration limits of the Riemann surface, greatly reduces the number of possible code CFTs. This work provides a step towards a full understanding of the constraints from higher genus modular invariance on 2d CFTs.