Conformal Field Theory - Scale Invariance Vs. Conformal Invariance

Scale Invariance Vs. Conformal Invariance

While it is possible for a quantum field theory to be scale invariant but not conformally-invariant, examples are rare . For this reason, the terms are often used interchangeably in the context of quantum field theory, even though the conformal symmetry is larger.

In some particular cases it is possible to prove that scale invariance implies conformal invariance in a quantum field theory, for example in unitary compact conformal field theories in two dimensions.

Read more about this topic:  Conformal Field Theory

Famous quotes containing the word scale:

    That age will be rich indeed when those relics which we call Classics, and the still older and more than classic but even less known Scriptures of the nations, shall have still further accumulated, when the Vaticans shall be filled with Vedas and Zendavestas and Bibles, with Homers and Dantes and Shakespeares, and all the centuries to come shall have successively deposited their trophies in the forum of the world. By such a pile we may hope to scale heaven at last.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)