Editing Worldsheet (section)

{{short description|Mathematical concept}}
{{string theory}}

In [[string theory]], a '''worldsheet''' is a two-dimensional [[manifold]] which describes the embedding of a [[String (physics)|string]] in [[spacetime]].<ref name="Di FrancescoMathieu1997">{{cite book|last1=Di Francesco|first1=Philippe|last2=Mathieu|first2=Pierre|last3=Sénéchal|first3=David|year=1997|isbn=978-1-4612-2256-9|title=Conformal Field Theory |doi=10.1007/978-1-4612-2256-9|page=8}}</ref> The term was coined by [[Leonard Susskind]]<ref name=susskind>{{cite journal |first=Leonard |last=Susskind |title=Dual-symmetric theory of hadrons, I. |journal=Nuovo Cimento A |volume=69 |issue=1 |pages=457–496 |year=1970}}</ref>  as a direct generalization of the [[world line]] concept for a point particle in [[special relativity|special]] and [[general relativity]].

The type of string, the geometry of the spacetime in which it propagates, and the presence of long-range background fields (such as [[gauge field]]s) are encoded in a [[two-dimensional conformal field theory]] defined on the worldsheet. For example, the [[bosonic string]] in 26 dimensions has a worldsheet conformal field theory consisting of 26 [[Massless free scalar bosons in two dimensions|free scalar bosons]]. Meanwhile, a [[superstring]] worldsheet theory in 10 dimensions consists of 10 free scalar fields and their [[fermion]]ic [[superpartner]]s.