What is "w-algebra"

In mathematics, a W-algebra is a structure in conformal field theory related to generalizations of the Virasoro algebra. They were introduced by , and the name "W-algebra" comes from the fact that Zamolodchikov used the letter W for one of the elements of one of his examples.

There are at least three different but related notions called W-algebras: classical W-algebras, quantum W-algebras, and finite W-algebras.