No abstract

The KP hierarchy is hamiltonian relative to a one-parameter family of Poisson structures obtained from a generalized Adler map in the space of formal pseudodifferential symbols with noninteger powers. The resulting W-algebra is a one-parameter deformation of W KP admitting a central extension for generic values of the parameter, reducing naturally to W n for special values of the parameter, and contracting to the centrally extended W 1+∞ , W ∞ and further truncations. In the classical limit, all algebras in the one-parameter family are equivalent and isomorphic to w KP . The reduction induced by setting the spinone field to zero yields a one-parameter deformation of W ∞ which contracts to a new nonlinear algebra of the W

We study the simplest geometrical particle model associated with null paths in four-dimensional Minkowski space-time. The action is given by the pseudo-arclength of the particle worldline. We show that the reduced classical phase space of this system coincides with that of a massive spinning particle of spin $s=\alpha^2/M$, where $M$ is the particle mass, and $\alpha$ is the coupling constant in front of the action. Consistency of the associated quantum theory requires the spin $s$ to be an integer or half integer number, thus implying a quantization condition on the physical mass $M$ of the particle. Then, standard quantization techniques show that the corresponding Hilbert spaces are solution spaces of the standard relativistic massive wave equations. Therefore this geometrical particle model provides us with an unified description of Dirac fermions ($s=1/2$) and massive higher spin fields.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX (elsart macros

We prove that $\W_3$ is the gauge symmetry of the scale-invariant rigid particle, whose action is given by the integrated extrinsic curvature of its world line. This is achieved by showing that its equations of motion can be written in terms of the Boussinesq operator. The $\W_3$ generators $T$ and $W$ then appear respectively as functions of the induced world line metric and the extrinsic curvature. We also show how the equations of motion for the standard relativistic particle arise from those of the rigid particle whenever it is consistent to impose the ``zero-curvature gauge'', and how to rewrite them in terms of the $\KdV$ operator. The relation between particle models and integrable systems is further pursued in the case of the spinning particle, whose equations of motion are closely related to the $\SKdV$ operator. We also partially extend our analysis in the supersymmetric domain to the scale invariant rigid particle by explicitly constructing a supercovariant version of its action. Comment: This is an expanded version of hep-th/9406072 (to be published in the Proceedings of the Workshop on the Geometry of Constrained Dynamical Systems, held at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge, June 14-18, 1994.).Comment: 14 pages, plain TeX (macros included). QMW-PH-94-2

We define and compute explicitly the classical limit of the realizations of W n appearing as hamiltonian structures of generalized KdV hierarchies. The classical limit is obtained by taking the commutative limit of the ring of pseudodifferential operators. These algebras-denoted w n -have free field realizations in which the generators are given by the elementary symmetric polynomials in the free fields. We compute the algebras explicitly and we show that they are all reductions of a new algebra w KP , which is proposed as the universal classical W -algebra for the w n series. As a deformation of this algebra we also obtain w 1+∞ , the classical limit of W 1+∞ .