Central charge

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In theoretical physics, a central charge is an operator Z that commutes with all the other symmetry operators.^[1] The adjective "central" refers to the center of the symmetry group—the subgroup of elements that commute with all other elements of the original group—often embedded within a Lie algebra. In some cases, such as two-dimensional conformal field theory, a central charge may also commute with all of the other operators, including operators that are not symmetry generators.^{[citation needed]}