Asymptotic Symmetry Research Articles

The holographic interpretation of Joverline{T} -deformed CFTs

Recently, a non-local yet possibly UV-complete quantum field theory has been constructed by deforming a two-dimensional CFT by the composite operator Joverline{T} , where J is a chiral U(1) current and overline{T} is a component of the stress tensor. Assuming the original CFT was a holographic CFT, we work out the holographic dual of its Joverline{T} deformation. We find that the dual spacetime is still AdS3, but with modified boundary conditions that mix the metric and the Chern-Simons gauge field dual to the U(1) current. We show that when the coefficient of the chiral anomaly for J vanishes, the energy and thermodynamics of black holes obeying these modified boundary conditions precisely reproduce the previously derived field theory spectrum and thermodynamics. Our proposed holographic dictionary can also reproduce the field-theoretical spectrum in presence of the chiral anomaly, upon a certain assumption that we justify. The asymptotic symmetry group associated to these boundary conditions consists of two copies of the Virasoro and one copy of the U(1) Kač-Moody algebra, just as before the deformation; the only effect of the latter is to modify the spacetime dependence of the right-moving Virasoro generators, whose action becomes state-dependent and effectively non-local.

Black hole memory effect

We compute the memory effect produced at the black hole horizon by a transient gravitational shockwave. As shown by Hawking, Perry, and Strominger (HPS) such a gravitational wave produces a deformation of the black hole geometry which from future null infinity is seen as a Bondi-Metzner-Sachs (BMS) supertranslation. This results in a diffeomorphic but physically distinct geometry which differs from the original black hole by their charges at infinity. Here we give the complementary description of this physical process in the near-horizon region as seen by an observer hovering just outside the event horizon. From this perspective, in addition to a supertranslation the shockwave also induces a horizon superrotation. We compute the associated superrotation charge and show that its form agrees with the one obtained by HPS at infinity. In addition, there is a supertranslation contribution to the horizon charge, which measures the entropy change in the process. We then turn to electrically and magnetically charged black holes and generalize the near-horizon asymptotic symmetry analysis to Einstein-Maxwell theory. This reveals an additional infinite-dimensional current algebra that acts non-trivially on the horizon superrotations. Finally, we generalize the black hole memory effect to Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m black holes.

Near horizon OTT black hole asymptotic symmetries and soft hair* * Supported by the Serbian Science Foundation (171031)

We study the near horizon geometry of both static and stationary extremal Oliva Tempo Troncoso (OTT) black holes. For each of these cases, a set of consistent asymptotic conditions is introduced. The canonical generator for the static configuration is shown to be regular. For the rotating OTT black hole, the asymptotic symmetry is described by the time reparametrization, the chiral Virasoro and centrally extended u(1) Kac-Moody algebras.

Revisiting the asymptotic dynamics of General Relativity on AdS3

The dual dynamics of Einstein gravity on AdS3 supplemented with boundary conditions of KdV-type is identified. It corresponds to a two-dimensional field theory at the boundary, described by a novel action principle whose field equations are given by two copies of the “potential modified KdV” equation. The asymptotic symmetries then transmute into the global Noether symmetries of the dual action, giving rise to an infinite set of commuting conserved charges, implying the integrability of the system. Noteworthy, the theory at the boundary is non-relativistic and possesses anisotropic scaling of Lifshitz type.

Two-form asymptotic symmetries and scalar soft theorems

We investigate the large gauge transformations of a two-form gauge field in four-dimensional Minkowski space. Our goal is to establish a connection between these asymptotic symmetries and the scalar soft theorems described by Campiglia, Coito and Mizera whereas the soft scalar mode should be interpreted in terms of its two-form dual counterpart.

Boundary theories for dilaton supergravity in 2D

The mathfrak{o}mathfrak{s}mathfrak{p}left(2, mathbb{N}right) -BF formulation of dilaton supergravity in two dimensions is considered. We introduce a consistent class of asymptotic conditions preserved by the extended superreparametrization group of the thermal circle at infinity. In the N = 1 and N = 2 cases the phase space foliation in terms of orbits of the super-Virasoro group allows to formulate suitable integrability conditions for the boundary terms that render the variational principle well-defined. Once regularity conditions are imposed, requiring trivial holonomy around the contractible cycle the asymptotic symmetries are broken to some subsets of exact isometries. Different coadjoint orbits of the asymptotic symmetry group yield different types of boundary dynamics; we find that the action principle can be reduced to either the extended super-Schwarzian theory, consistent with the dynamics of a non-vanishing Casimir function, or to superparticle models, compatible with bulk configurations whose Casimir is zero. These results are generalized to mathcal{N}ge 3 by making use of boundary conditions consistent with the loop group of OSp(2, ℕ). Appropriate integrability conditions permit to reduce the dynamics of dilaton supergravity to a particle moving on the OSp(2, ℕ) group manifold. Generalizations of the boundary dynamics for mathcal{N}>2 are obtained once bulk geometries are supplemented with super-AdS2 asymptotics.

Superboost transitions, refraction memory and super-Lorentz charge algebra

We derive a closed-form expression of the orbit of Minkowski spacetime under arbitrary Diff(S2) super-Lorentz transformations and supertranslations. Such vacua are labelled by the superboost, superrotation and supertranslation fields. Impulsive transitions among vacua are related to the refraction memory effect and the displacement memory effect. A phase space is defined whose asymptotic symmetry group consists of arbitrary Diff(S2) super-Lorentz transformations and supertranslations. It requires a renormalization of the symplectic structure. We show that our final surface charge expressions are consistent with the leading and subleading soft graviton theorems. We contrast the leading BMS triangle structure to the mixed overleading/subleading BMS square structure.

From parabolic to loxodromic BMS transformations

Half of the Bondi–Metzner–Sachs (BMS) transformations consist of orientation-preserving conformal homeomorphisms of the extended complex plane known as fractional linear (or Möbius) transformations. These can be of 4 kinds, i.e. they are classified as being parabolic, or hyperbolic, or elliptic, or loxodromic, depending on the number of fixed points and on the value of the trace of the associated $$2 \times 2$$ matrix in the projective version of the $$SL(2,\mathbb {C})$$ group. The resulting particular forms of $$SL(2,\mathbb {C})$$ matrices affect also the other half of BMS transformations, and are used here to propose 4 realizations of the asymptotic symmetry group that we call, again, parabolic, or hyperbolic, or elliptic, or loxodromic. In the second part of the paper, we prove that a subset of hyperbolic and loxodromic transformations, those having trace that approaches $$\infty $$ , correspond to the fulfillment of limit-point condition for singular Sturm–Liouville problems. Thus, a profound link may exist between the language for describing asymptotically flat space-times and the world of complex analysis and self-adjoint problems in ordinary quantum mechanics.

Conservation of asymptotic charges from past to future null infinity: Maxwell fields

On any asymptotically-flat spacetime, we show that the asymptotic symmetries and charges of Maxwell fields on past null infinity can be related to those on future null infinity as recently proposed by Strominger. We extend the covariant formalism of Ashtekar and Hansen by constructing a 3-manifold of both null and spatial directions of approach to spatial infinity. This allows us to systematically impose appropriate regularity conditions on the Maxwell fields near spatial infinity along null directions. The Maxwell equations on this 3-manifold and the regularity conditions imply that the relevant field quantities on past null infinity are antipodally matched to those on future null infinity. Imposing the condition that in a scattering process the total flux of charges through spatial infinity vanishes, we isolate the subalgebra of totally fluxless symmetries near spatial infinity. This subalgebra provides a natural isomorphism between the asymptotic symmetry algebras on past and future null infinity, such that the corresponding charges are equal near spatial infinity. This proves that the flux of charges is conserved from past to future null infinity in a classical scattering process of Maxwell fields. We also comment on possible extensions of our method to scattering in general relativity.

Asymptotic symmetries of three-dimensional Chern-Simons gravity for the Maxwell algebra

We study a three-dimensional Chern-Simons gravity theory based on the Maxwell algebra. We find that the boundary dynamics is described by an enlargement and deformation of the bms3 algebra with three independent central charges. This symmetry arises from a gravity action invariant under the local Maxwell group and is characterized by presence of Abelian generators which modify the commutation relations of the super-translations in the standard bms3 algebra. Our analysis is based on the charge algebra of the theory in the BMS gauge, which includes the known solutions of standard asymptotically flat case. The field content of the theory is different than the one of General Relativity, but it includes all its geometries as particular solutions. In this line, we also study the stationary solutions of the theory in ADM form and we show that the vacuum energy and the vacuum angular momentum of the stationary configuration are influenced by the presence of the gravitational Maxwell field.

CFT duals on extremal rotating NUT black holes

We investigate the Kerr–Newman–NUT black hole solution obtained from Plebański–Demiański solutions with several assumptions. The origin of the microscopic entropy of this black hole is investigated using the conjectured Kerr/CFT correspondence which is originally proposed for extremal Kerr black holes. The isometry of the near-horizon extremal Kerr–Newman–NUT black hole shows that the asymptotic symmetry group may be implemented to compute the central charge of the Virasoro algebra. Furthermore, by assuming the Frolov–Thorne vacuum, the conformal temperatures can be obtained. Then by using the Cardy formula, the microscopic entropy is gained which matches the Bekenstein–Hawking entropy. We also employ the Cardy prescription to find the logarithmic correction of the entropy. Then at limit [Formula: see text], the extremal Reissner–Nordström–NUT solution is recovered and by enhancing with the fibered coordinate we find the five-dimensional (5D) solution. The second dual CFT is applied to this black hole to gain the entropy. Finally, the microscopic entropy is still in agreement with the area law of 5D black hole solution. Hence, the extremal Reissner–Nordström–NUT solution is holographically dual to the CFT.

Testing Gravitational Memory Generation with Compact Binary Mergers.

Gravitational memory is an important prediction of General Relativity, which is intimately related to asymptotic symmetries at null infinity and the so-called soft graviton theorem. For a given transient astronomical event, the angular distribution of energy and angular momentum fluxes uniquely determine the displacement and spin memory effect in the sky. We investigate the possibility of using the binary black hole merger events detected by Advanced LIGO/Virgo to test the relation between the source's energy emission and the gravitational memory measured on Earth, as predicted by General Relativity. We find that while it is difficult for Advanced LIGO/Virgo one-year detection of a third-generation detector network will easily rule out the hypothesis assuming isotropic memory distribution. In addition, we construct a phenomenological model for memory waveforms of binary neutron star mergers and use it to address the detectability of memory from these events in the third-generation detector era. We find that measuring gravitational memory from neutron star mergers is a possible way to distinguish between different neutron star equations of state.

On the explicit asymptotic W5 symmetry of 3D Chern-Simons higher spin AdS3 gravity

In this paper, we explicitly construct an asymptotic W5 symmetry algebra of the three-dimensional anti-de Sitter (AdS3) higher spin gravity. We use an sl(5,R)⊕sl(5,R) Lie algebra valued Chern-Simons gauge theory with a negative cosmological constant, and its asymptotic symmetry algebra is explicitly calculated as two copies of the classical W5 algebra with central charge c. Our results can be interpreted as a spin 5 extension of AdS3 gravity and a proof of how the higher spin Ward identities and the asymptotic W5 symmetry algebra is derived from the higher spin bulk field equations of motion. This higher spin asymptotic W5 symmetry algebra contains a finite number of conformal primary spin s: s = 2, 3, 4, 5. We also indicated how to introduce chemical potentials and holonomy conditions associated with these higher spin charges in AdS3 higher spin gravity in a manner that it preserves the asymptotic symmetry algebra.

A functional approach to soft graviton scattering and BMS charges

We consider the interaction between a matter system and soft gravitons. We use a functional eikonal expansion to deal with the infrared divergences, and introduce a ‘composite generating functional’ which allows us to calculate a decoherence functional for the time evolution of the system. These techniques allow us to formulate scattering problems in a way which deals consistently with infrared effects, as well as being manifestly diffeomorphism invariant. We show how the asymptotic form of the decoherence functional can be written in terms of the infinitely many conserved charges associated with asymptotic BMS symmetries, and allow us to address the question of how much information is lost during the scattering.

Hamiltonian structure and asymptotic symmetries of the Einstein-Maxwell system at spatial infinity

We present a new set of asymptotic conditions for gravity at spatial infinity that includes gravitational magnetic-type solutions, allows for a non-trivial Hamiltonian action of the complete BM S4 algebra, and leads to a non-divergent behaviour of the Weyl tensor as one approaches null infinity. We then extend the analysis to the coupled Einstein-Maxwell system and obtain as canonically realized asymptotic symmetry algebra a semi-direct sum of the BM S4 algebra with the angle dependent u(1) transformations. The Hamiltonian charge-generator associated with each asymptotic symmetry element is explicitly written. The connection with matching conditions at null infinity is also discussed.

Conservation laws from asymptotic symmetry and subleading charges in QED

We present several results on memory effects, asymptotic symmetry and soft theorems in massive QED. We first clarify in what sense the memory effects are interpreted as the charge conservation of the large gauge transformations, and derive the leading and subleading memory effects in classical electromagnetism. We also show that the sub-subleading charges are not conserved without including contributions from the spacelike infinity. Next, we study QED in the BRST formalism and show that parts of large gauge transformations are physical symmetries by justifying that they are not gauge redundancies. Finally, we obtain the expression of charges associated with the subleading soft photon theorem in massive scalar QED.

Foliations by spheres with constant expansion for isolated systems without asymptotic symmetry

Motivated by the foliation by stable spheres with constant mean curvature constructed by Huisken–Yau, Metzger proved that every initial data set can be foliated by spheres with constant expansion (CE) if the manifold is asymptotically equal to the standard $[t=0]$-timeslice of the Schwarzschild solution. In this paper, we generalize his result to asymptotically flat initial data sets and weaken additional smallness assumptions made by Metzger. Furthermore, we prove that the CE-surfaces are in a well-defined sense (asymptotically) independent of time if the linear momentum vanishes.

Gravitational memory in higher dimensions

It is shown that there is a universal gravitational memory effect measurable by inertial detectors in even spacetime dimensions d ≥ 4. The effect falls off at large radius r as r3−d. Moreover this memory effect sits at one corner of an infrared triangle with the other two corners occupied by Weinberg’s soft graviton theorem and infinite-dimensional asymptotic symmetries.

Symmetries, holography, and quantum phase transition in two-dimensional dilaton AdS gravity

We present a revisitation of the Almheiri-Polchinski dilaton gravity model from a two-dimensional (2D) bulk perspective. We describe a peculiar feature of the model, namely the pattern of conformal symmetry breaking using bulk Killing vectors, a covariant definition of mass and the flow between different vacua of the theory. We show that the effect of the symmetry breaking is both the generation of an infrared scale (a mass gap) and to make local the Goldstone modes associated with the asymptotic symmetries of the 2D spacetime. In this way a non vanishing central charge is generated in the dual conformal theory, which accounts for the microscopic entropy of the 2D black hole. The use of covariant mass allows to compare energetically the two different vacua of the theory and to show that at zero temperature the vacuum with a constant dilaton is energetically preferred. We also translate in the bulk language several features of the dual CFT discussed by Maldacena et al. The uplifting of the 2D model to $(d+2)-$dimensional theories exhibiting hyperscaling violation is briefly discussed.

Flatspace chiral supergravity

We propose a holographic duality between a 2 dimensional (2d) chiral superconformal field theory and a certain theory of supergravity in 3d with flatspace boundary conditions that is obtained as a double scaling limit of a parity breaking theory of supergravity. We show how the asymptotic symmetries of the bulk theory reduce from the "despotic" Super Bondi-Metzner-Sachs algebra (or equivalently the Inhomogeneous Super Galilean Conformal Algebra) to a single copy of the Super-Virasoro algebra in this limit and also reproduce the same reduction from a study of null vectors in the putative 2d dual field theory.