The AdS3 boundary energy momentum tensor, exact in the string length over the curvature radius

Abstract: We first clarify the relation between boundary perturbations of AdS3 in general relativity, and exactly marginal worldsheet vertex operators in AdS3 string theory with Neveu-Schwarz Neveu-Schwarz flux. The latter correspond to solutions of the higher derivative low-energy tree level effective action to all orders in the string length over the curvature radius. We then calculate the exact expression of the boundary energy momentum tensor including all these higher derivative corrections in a purely bosonic string theory. The bottom-line is a canonical shift in the normalization of the boundary energy-momentum tensor corresponding to a shift in the curvature radius over the string length squared by the dual Coxeter number of the SL(2,R) subalgebra of the space-time Virasoro algebra. That allows us to derive the value of the Brown-Henneaux central charge including all tree level higher derivative corrections in bosonic string theory, in a scheme dictated by the worldsheet conformal field theory.