Representations of Centrally-Extended Lie Algebras over Differential Operators and Vertex Algebras

Abstract

We construct irreducible modules of centrally-extended classical Lie algebras over left ideals of the algebra of differential operators on the circle, through certain irreducible modules of centrally-extended classical Lie algebras of infinite matrices with finite number of nonzero entries. The structures of vertex algebras associated with the vaccum representations of these algebras are determined. Moreover, we prove that under certain conditions, the highest weight irreducible modules of centrally-extended classical Lie algebras of infinite matrices with finite number of nonzero entries narually give rise to the irreducible modules of the simple quotients of these vertex algebras. Our results are natural generalizations of the well-known WZW models in conformal field theory associated with affine Kac-Moody algebras. They can also be viewed as quadratic generalizations of free field theory.