Chern-Simons and two dimensional conformal field theories in a covariant lagrangian approach

We study, following the ideas of Symanzik, the Chern-Simons model, in the Landau gauge, as a field theory with a boundary and show that, with suitable boundary conditions, the broken BRS invariance leads to the existence, on the boundary, of a multiplet of conserved chiral currents, which obey a Kac-Moody algebra with central charge proportional to the original coupling constant of the gauge invariant Chern-Simons action. (orig.)