Non-rational su(2) cosets and Liouville field theory

Abstract

We propose an su(2) WZNW model with a non-rational level and a continuous spectrum based on the non-unitary hermitian representations of the chiral algebra su(2)_k. It is conjectured that for this model the continuous spectra counterpart of the Goddard-Kent-Olive (GKO) coset construction yields the Liouville and the imaginary Liouville field theories. We support the conjecture by a number of nontrivial tests based on analytic calculations.