Vertex Operators in 4D Quantum Gravity Formulated as CFT (1005.2453v2)

Abstract: We study vertex operators in 4D conformal field theory derived from quantized gravity, whose dynamics is governed by the Wess-Zumino action by Riegert and the Weyl action. Conformal symmetry is equal to diffeomorphism symmetry in the ultraviolet limit, which mixes positive-metric and negative-metric modes of the gravitational field and thus these modes cannot be treated separately in physical operators. In this paper, we construct gravitational vertex operators such as the Ricci scalar, defined as space-time volume integrals of them are invariant under conformal transformations. Short distance singularities of these operator products are computed and it is shown that their coefficients have physically correct sign. Furthermore, we show that conformal algebra holds even in the system perturbed by the cosmological constant vertex operator as in the case of the Liouville theory shown by Curtright and Thorn.