Tensor representations of conformal algebra and conformally covariant operator product expansion

A conformally covariant formulation of operator product expansion is discussed as an expansion of the product of two representations into a direct sum of irreducible representations. The basic irreducible representations are analyzed and classified. The isomorphism between the conformal algebra and the O(4, 2) algebra is used to obtain a manifestly covariant formalism. The implications of the isomorphism in the derivation of the representations is discussed. The covariant O(4, 2) formalism directly relates dominant terms to nondominant terms in the light-cone limit. The essential coincidence of the problem of a conformal covariant operator product expansion to the problem of determining the form of the three-point function is stressed, together with the relevance of a selection rule for two-point functions following from exact (not spontaneously broken) conformal covariance. The role of Ward identities in a conformal covariant scheme is pointed out, and the mathematical implications on the n-point functions from causality are described.