Heterotic String Conformal Field Theory And A-D-E Singularities

TL;DR

This paper studies the heterotic string near A-D-E singularities, revealing how quantum effects like corrections and instantons smooth classical geometric singularities.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the strongly coupled conformal field theory governing heterotic strings at A-D-E singularities, highlighting quantum smoothing mechanisms.

Findings

Quantum corrections smooth classical singularities.

Strongly coupled CFT describes heterotic string behavior.

Instantons contribute to geometric regularization.

Abstract

We analyze the behavior of the heterotic string near an A-D-E singularity without small instantons. This problem is governed by a strongly coupled worldsheet conformal field theory, which, by a combination of O(alpha') corrections and worldsheet instantons, smooths out the singularities present in the classical geometry.