High-energy QCD as a topological field theory

We propose an identification of the conformal field theory underlying Lipatov's spin-chain model of high-energy scattering in perturbative QCD. It is a twisted N = 2 supersymmetric topological field theory, which arises as the limiting case of the SL(2,R)/U(1) non-linear model that also plays a role in describing the Quantum Hall effect and black holes in string theory. The doubly-infinite set of non-trivial integrals of motion of the high-energy spin-chain model displayed by Faddeev and Korchemsky are identified as the Cartan subalgebra of a bosonic sub-symmetry possessed by this topological theory. The renormalization group and an analysis of instanton perturbations yield some understanding why this particular topological spin-chain model emerges in the high-energy limit, and provide a new estimate of the asymptotic behaviour of multi-Reggeized-gluon exchange. Received: 31 August 1998 / Published online: 11 March 1999