N=8 superconformal algebra and the superstring

Journal article, 1993

The superstring in D=3,4 and 6 is invariant under an N=D-2 superconformal algebra based on S^{D-3}. There is a direct relationship between this (world-sheet) symmetry and the super-Poincaré (target space) symmetry. We establish this relationship using the light-cone gauge, show how the statement generalizes to D=10 and examine the properties of the N=8 superconformal algebra and the possible implications of its existence.