Orthogonal Schurs for Classical Gauge Groups

Abstract

Finite N physics of half-BPS operators for gauge groups SO(N) and Sp(N) has recently been studied[1, 2]. Among other things they showed that, alike U(N), Schur operators (but in the square of their eigenvalues) diagonalize the free field two-point function of half-BPS operators for SO(N) and Sp(N) gauge groups. This result was unexpected since Wick contractions behave differently. In this paper we solve the puzzle by treating all gauge groups in a unified framework and showing how orthogonality of Schur operators emerges naturally from the embedding structure of classical Lie algebras g(N) -> g(M). We go further and we state that orthogonality of Schurs is a gauge group-independent property for classical gauge groups.