Comments on Short Multiplets in Superconformal Algebras

Abstract

The problem of classifying all short multiplets of superconformal algebras still seems to be an open question. A generic short multiplet is non-unitary, which nevertheless is of interest in various contexts. Even if one is interested in unitarity theories only, non-unitary short multiplets are of use in the analysis of (super)conformal blocks. The classification problem is mathematically formulated in terms of the representation theory of parabolic Verma modules, whose theory is known to be more challenging than that of more standard Verma modules associated with the Borel subalgebra. We comment on some recent developments of the representation theory, which could be of help in solving the classification problem.