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At various places I have seen people referring to Segal's papers in CFT as the "standard definition" of the subject. These seem to have become classics in this field. But I can't locate them on the net. I searched on arxiv,spires,Google/Scholar,AMS etc.

The papers I am referring to are (especially the fist one),

  • G. Segal, The definition of conformal field theory, in: Differential geometrical methods in theoretical physics (Como, 1987), NATO Adv. Sci. Inst. Ser. C Math. Phys. Sci., 250, Kluwer Acad. Publ., Dordrecht, 1988, 165-171

  • G. Segal, Two-dimensional conformal field theories and modular functors, in: Proceedings of the IXth International Congress on Mathematical Physics, Swansea, 1988, Hilger, Bristol, 1989, 22-37.

  • G. Segal, The definition of conformal field theory, preprint, 1988; also in: Topology, geometry and quantum field theory, ed. U. Tillmann, London Math. Soc. Lect. Note Ser., Vol. 308. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004, 421-577.

and on similar lines this paper by Moore and Seiberg

  • G. Moore and N. Seiberg, Lectures on RCFT, in: Physics, geometry, and topology (Banff, AB, 1989), ed. H.C. Lee, NATO Adv. Sci. Inst. Ser. B Phys., 238, Plenum, New York, 1990, 263-361.

One possibility is that these are only available in the proceedings mentioned and hence only as books in some library. Are there no online copies of these?

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    $\begingroup$ Are these books/proceedings/volumes not available in your library? $\endgroup$
    – Kevin H. Lin
    Jun 17, 2010 at 21:23
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    $\begingroup$ I voted to close, because I don't think the purpose of MO is to substitute for going to the library/requesting an interlibrary loan/reading previews on google books - especially not for things like the Tillmann volume that are in print and easily available. I think MO runs the risk of getting into murky waters if people use it this way. Happily, much of what we need is openly available - for those things that are not, an occasional library visit isn't such a hardship. $\endgroup$
    – Tim Perutz
    Jun 17, 2010 at 22:18
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    $\begingroup$ Personally, I don't mind mathoverflow being used this way unless it in some way becomes disruptive. $\endgroup$
    – Scott Morrison
    Jun 18, 2010 at 4:00
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    $\begingroup$ I agree with Tim on the murky waters. There's a definite distinction between asking for a reference and asking for a way to find a technically illegal copy of something. Whilst the question does not ask for such, it doesn't not ask for it. $\endgroup$
    – Andrew Stacey
    Jun 18, 2010 at 8:44
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    $\begingroup$ The library I have access to does have one of the above papers. But there are lots of issues about an user taking a photocopy of an article from a book in the library. Hence it helps is some online database like arxiv has a legal copy of the article. $\endgroup$
    – Anirbit
    Jun 18, 2010 at 18:17

4 Answers 4

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Moore-Seiberg can be obtained from Professor Moore's webpage, see this page.

One of Segal's lectures can be found here, which I'm afraid is different from what you requested.

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http://www.math.upenn.edu/~blockj/scfts/segal.pdf

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The first of your references is available via Google books.

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The original article of Graeme Segal entitled "The definition of conformal field theory" has been reprinted together with comments from Segal in

Topology, Geometry and Quantum Field Theory, Proceedings of the 2002 Oxford Symposium in the honour of the 60th birthday of Graeme Segal, Edited by Ulrike Tillmann, University of Oxford

It is unlikely to be found from a search about Segal but instead about Tillmann.

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  • $\begingroup$ coudy, this is not the original article (which is just a few pages long), but the original essay. $\endgroup$
    – Maxim Leyenson
    Oct 1, 2023 at 5:27

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