Duality, Quotients, and Currents

Abstract

We study the generalization of $R\to 1/R$ duality to arbitrary conformally invariant sigma models with an isometry. We show that any pair of dual sigma models can be represented as quotients of a self-dual sigma model obtained by gauging different combinations of chiral currents. This observation is used to clarify the interpretation of the generalized duality as a symmetry of conformal field theory. We extend these results to $N=2$ supersymmetric sigma models.