An integrable Lorentz-breaking deformation of two-dimensional CFTs

Understand

It has been recently shown that the deformation of an arbitrary two-dimensional conformal field theory by the composite irrelevant operator $T \bar T$, built from the components of the stress tensor, is solvable; in particular, the finite-size spectrum of the deformed theory can be obtained from that of the original CFT through a universal formula.

• We study a similarly universal, Lorentz-breaking deformation of two-dimensional CFTs that posess a conserved $U(1)$ current, $J$.
• The deformation takes the schematic form $J \bar T$ and is interesting because it preserves an $SL(2,\mathbb{R}) \times U(1)$ subgroup of the original global conformal symmetries.
• For the case of a purely (anti)chiral current, we find the finite-size spectrum of the deformed theory and study its thermodynamic properties.