Infinite-dimensional Symmetry Research Articles

Asymptotic symmetries, holography and topological hair

Asymptotic symmetries of AdS4 quantum gravity and gauge theory are derived by coupling the holographically dual CFT3 to Chern-Simons gauge theory and 3D gravity in a “probe” (large-level) limit. Despite the fact that the three-dimensional AdS4 boundary as a whole is consistent with only finite-dimensional asymptotic symmetries, given by AdS isometries, infinite-dimensional symmetries are shown to arise in circumstances where one is restricted to boundary subspaces with effectively two-dimensional geometry. A canonical example of such a restriction occurs within the 4D subregion described by a Wheeler-DeWitt wavefunctional of AdS4 quantum gravity. An AdS4 analog of Minkowski “super-rotation” asymptotic symmetry is probed by 3D Einstein gravity, yielding CFT2 structure (in a large central charge limit), via AdS3 foliation of AdS4 and the AdS3/CFT2 correspondence. The maximal asymptotic symmetry is however probed by 3D conformal gravity. Both 3D gravities have Chern-Simons formulation, manifesting their topological character. Chern-Simons structure is also shown to be emergent in the Poincare patch of AdS4, as soft/boundary limits of 4D gauge theory, rather than “put in by hand” as an external probe. This results in a finite effective Chern-Simons level. Several of the considerations of asymptotic symmetry structure are found to be simpler for AdS4 than for Mink4, such as non-zero 4D particle masses, 4D non-perturbative “hard” effects, and consistency with unitarity. The last of these in particular is greatly simplified because in some set-ups the time dimension is explicitly shared by each level of description: Lorentzian AdS4, CFT3 and CFT2. Relatedly, the CFT2 structure clarifies the sense in which the infinite asymptotic charges constitute a useful form of “hair” for black holes and other complex 4D states. An AdS4 analog of Minkowski “memory” effects is derived, but with late-time memory of earlier events being replaced by (holographic) “shadow” effects. Lessons from AdS4 provide hints for better understanding Minkowski asymptotic symmetries, the 3D structure of its soft limits, and Minkowski holography.

Asymptotic symmetries and charges at null infinity: from low to high spins

Weinberg’s celebrated factorisation theorem holds for soft quanta of arbitrary integer spin. The same result, for spin one and two, has been rederived assuming that the infinite-dimensional asymptotic symmetry group of Maxwell’s equations and of asymptotically flat spaces leave the S-matrix invariant. For higher spins, on the other hand, no such infinite-dimensional asymptotic symmetries were known and, correspondingly, no a priori derivation of Weinberg’s theorem could be conjectured. In this contribution we review the identification of higher-spin supertranslations and superrotations in D = 4 as well as their connection to Weinberg’s result. While the procedure we follow can be shown to be consistent in any D, no infinite-dimensional enhancement of the asymptotic symmetry group emerges from it in D > 4, thus leaving a number of questions unanswered.

Quantum torus symmetries of the CKP and multi-component CKP hierarchies

In this paper, we construct a series of additional flows of the C type Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (CKP) hierarchy and the multi-component CKP hierarchy, and these flows constitute an N-fold direct product of the positive half of the quantum torus symmetry. Comparing to the W∞ infinite dimensional Lie symmetry, this quantum torus symmetry has a nice algebraic structure with double indices.

Linearizability for third order evolution equations

The problem of linearization for third order evolution equations is considered. Criteria for testing equations for linearity are presented. A class of linearizable equations depending on arbitrary functions is obtained by requiring presence of an infinite-dimensional symmetry group. Linearizing transformations for this class are found using symmetry structure and local conservation laws. A number of special cases as examples are discussed. Their transformation to equations within the same class by differential substitutions and connection with KdV and mKdV equations is also reviewed in this framework.

Higher-spin fields and charges in the periodic spinor space

The -invariant unfolded system is considered in the periodic twistor-like spinor space. Complete set of non-trivial charges corresponding to the global symmetry compatible with the periodicity conditions is constructed. Residual infinite-dimensional symmetry is realized in terms of the star-product algebra. It is shown that charges associated with integrations over different cycles are related by particular higher-spin symmetry transformations.

Dispersionless and multicomponent BKP hierarchies with quantum torus symmetries

In this article, we will construct the additional perturbative quantum torus symmetry of the dispersionless BKP hierarchy basing on the $W_{\infty}$ infinite dimensional Lie symmetry. These results show that the complete quantum torus symmetry is broken from the BKP hierarchy to its dispersionless hierarchy. Further a series of additional flows of the multicomponent BKP hierarchy will be defined and these flows constitute an $N$-folds direct product of the positive half of the quantum torus symmetries.

On higher-spin supertranslations and superrotations

We study the large gauge transformations of massless higher-spin fields in four-dimensional Minkowski space. Upon imposing suitable fall-off conditions, providing higher-spin counterparts of the Bondi gauge, we observe the existence of an infinite-dimensional asymptotic symmetry algebra. The corresponding Ward identities can be held responsible for Weinberg’s factorisation theorem for amplitudes involving soft particles of spin greater than two.

On four-point interactions in massless higher spin theory in flat space

We consider a minimal interacting theory of a single tower of spin j = 0, 2, 4,… massless Fronsdal fields in flat space with local Lorentz-covariant cubic interaction vertices. We address the question of constraints on possible quartic interaction vertices imposed by the condition of on-shell gauge invariance of the tree-level four-point scattering amplitudes involving three spin 0 and one spin j particle. We find that these constraints admit a local solution for quartic 000j interaction term in the action only for j = 2 and j = 4. We determine the non-local terms in four-vertices required in the j ≥ 6 case and suggest that these non-localities may be interpreted as a result of integrating out a tower of auxiliary ghost-like massless higher spin fields in an extended theory with a local action, up to possible higher-point interactions of the ghost fields. We also consider the conformal off-shell extension of the Einstein theory and show that the perturbative expansion of its action is the same as that of the non-local action resulting from integrating out the trace of the graviton field from the Einstein action. Motivated by this example, we conjecture the existence of a similar conformal off-shell extension of a massless higher spin theory that may be related to the above extended theory. It may then have the same infinite-dimensional symmetry as the higher-derivative conformal higher spin theory and may thus lead to a trivial S matrix.

Extended Galilean symmetries of non-relativistic strings

We consider two non-relativistic strings and their Galilean symmetries. These strings are obtained as the two possible non-relativistic (NR) limits of a relativistic string. One of them is non-vibrating and represents a continuum of non-relativistic massless particles, and the other one is a non-relativistic vibrating string. For both cases we write the generator of the most general point transformation and impose the condition of Noether symmetry. As a result we obtain two sets of non-relativistic Killing equations for the vector fields that generate the symmetry transformations. Solving these equations shows that NR strings exhibit two extended, infinite dimensional space-time symmetries which contain, as a subset, the Galilean symmetries. For each case, we compute the associated conserved charges and discuss the existence of non-central extensions.

Inflation in Flatland

We investigate the symmetry structure of inflation in 2+1 dimensions. In particular, we show that the asymptotic symmetries of three-dimensional de Sitter space are in one-to-one correspondence with cosmological adiabatic modes for the curvature perturbation. In 2+1 dimensions, the asymptotic symmetry algebra is infinite-dimensional, given by two copies of the Virasoro algebra, and can be traced to the conformal symmetries of the two-dimensional spatial slices of de Sitter. We study the consequences of this infinite-dimensional symmetry for inflationary correlation functions, finding new soft theorems that hold only in 2+1 dimensions. Expanding the correlation functions as a power series in the soft momentum q, these relations constrain the traceless part of the tensorial coefficient at each order in q in terms of a lower-point function. As a check, we verify that the \U0001d4aa(q2) identity is satisfied by inflationary correlation functions in the limit of small sound speed.

Non-Local Meta-Conformal Invariance, Diffusion-Limited Erosion and the XXZ Chain

Diffusion-limited erosion is a distinct universality class of fluctuating interfaces. Although its dynamical exponent z = 1 , none of the known variants of conformal invariance can act as its dynamical symmetry. In d = 1 spatial dimensions, its infinite-dimensional dynamic symmetry is constructed and shown to be isomorphic to the direct sum of three loop-Virasoro algebras. The infinitesimal generators are spatially non-local and use the Riesz-Feller fractional derivative. Co-variant two-time response functions are derived and reproduce the exact solution of diffusion-limited erosion. The relationship with the terrace-step-kind model of vicinal surfaces and the integrable XXZ chain are discussed.

Boundary Conditions for Infinite Conservation Laws

Regular soliton equations (KdV, sine-Gordon, NLS) are known to possess infinite sets of local conservation laws. Some other classes of nonlinear PDE possess infinite-dimensional symmetries parametrized by arbitrary functions of independent or dependent variables; among them are Zabolotskaya–Khokhlov, Kadomtsev–Petviashvili, Davey–Stewartson equations and Born-Infeld equation. Boundary conditions were shown to play an important role for the existence of local conservation laws associated with infinite-dimensional symmetries. In this paper, we analyze boundary conditions for the infinite conserved densities of regular soliton equations: KdV, potential KdV, Sine-Gordon equation, and nonlinear Schrodinger equation, and compare them with boundary conditions for the conserved densities obtained from infinite-dimensional symmetries with arbitrary functions of independent and dependent variables.

S-matrices and quantum group symmetry of k-deformed sigma models

Recently, two kinds of integrable deformations of the string world sheet theory in the gauge/gravity correspondence have been constructed (Delduc et al 2014 Phys. Rev. Lett. 112 051601; Hollowood et al 2014 J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 47 495402). One class of these, the k deformations associated to the more general q deformations but with a root of unity, has been shown to be related to a particular discrete deformation of the principal chiral models and (semi-)symmetric space sigma models involving a gauged WZW model. We conjecture a form for the exact S-matrices of the bosonic integrable field theories of this type. The S-matrices imply that the theories have a hidden infinite dimensional affine quantum group symmetry. We provide some evidence, via quantum inverse scattering techniques, that the theories do indeed possess the finite-dimensional part of this quantum group symmetry.

Conformal field theories from deformations of theories withWnsymmetry

We construct a set of non-rational conformal field theories that consist of deformations of Toda field theory for sl(n). Besides conformal invariance, the theories still enjoy a remnant infinite-dimensional affine symmetry. The case n=3 is used to illustrate this phenomenon, together with further deformations that yield enhanced Kac-Moody symmetry algebras. For generic n we compute N-point correlation functions on the Riemann sphere and show that these can be expressed in terms of sl(n) Toda field theory correlation functions.

On triviality of S-matrix in conformal higher spin theory

We consider the conformal higher spin (CHS) theory in d=4 that contains the s=1 Maxwell vector, s=2 Weyl graviton and their higher spin s=3,4,... counterparts with higher-derivative \box^s kinetic terms. The interacting action for such theory can be found as the coefficient of the logarithmically divergent part in the induced action for sources coupled to higher spin currents in a free complex scalar field model. We explicitly determine some cubic and quartic interaction vertices in the CHS action from scalar loop integrals. We then compute the simplest tree-level 4-particle scattering amplitudes 11 -> 11, 22 -> 22 and 11 -> 22 and find that after summing up all the intermediate CHS exchanges they vanish. This generalises the vanishing of the scattering amplitude for external conformal scalars interacting via the exchange of all CHS fields found earlier in arXiv:1512.08896. This vanishing should generalise to all scattering amplitudes in the CHS theory and as in the conformal scalar scattering case should be a consequence of the underlying infinite dimensional higher spin symmetry that extends the standard conformal symmetry.

Extended symmetries at the black hole horizon

We prove that non-extremal black holes in four-dimensional general relativity exhibit an infinite-dimensional symmetry in their near horizon region. By prescribing a physically sensible set of boundary conditions at the horizon, we derive the algebra of asymptotic Killing vectors, which is shown to be infinite-dimensional and includes, in particular, two sets of supertranslations and two mutually commuting copies of the Virasoro algebra. We define the surface charges associated to the asymptotic diffeomorphisms that preserve the boundary conditions and discuss the subtleties of this definition, such as the integrability conditions and the correct definition of the Dirac brackets. When evaluated on the stationary solutions, the only non-vanishing charges are the zero-modes. One of them reproduces the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of Kerr black holes. We also study the extremal limit, recovering the NHEK geometry. In this singular case, where the algebra of charges and the integrability conditions get modified, we find that the computation of the zero-modes correctly reproduces the black hole entropy. Furthermore, we analyze the case of three spacetime dimensions, in which the integrability conditions notably simplify and the field equations can be solved analytically to produce a family of exact solutions that realize the boundary conditions explicitly. We examine other features, such as the form of the algebra in the extremal limit and the relation to other works in the literature.

Galilean Yang-Mills theory

We investigate the symmetry structure of the non-relativistic limit of Yang-Mills theories. Generalising previous results in the Galilean limit of electrodynamics, we discover that for Yang-Mills theories there are a variety of limits inside the Galilean regime. We first explicitly work with the $SU(2)$ theory and then generalise to $SU(N)$ for all $N$, systematising our notation and analysis. We discover that the whole family of limits lead to different sectors of Galilean Yang-Mills theories and the equations of motion in each sector exhibit hitherto undiscovered infinite dimensional symmetries, viz. infinite Galilean Conformal symmetries in $D=4$. These provide the first examples of interacting Galilean Conformal Field Theories (GCFTs) in $D>2$.

The symmetries of the Carroll superparticle

Motivated by recent applications of Carroll symmetries we investigate, using the method of nonlinear realizations, the geometry of flat and curved (AdS) Carroll space and the symmetries of a particle moving in such a space both in the bosonic as well as in the supersymmetric case. In the bosonic case we find that the Carroll particle possesses an infinite-dimensional symmetry which only in the flat case includes dilatations. The duality between the Bargmann and Carroll algebra, relevant for the flat case, does not extend to the curved case. In the supersymmetric case we study the dynamics of the AdS Carroll superparticle. Only in the flat limit we find that the action is invariant under an infinite-dimensional symmetry that includes a supersymmetric extension of the Lifshitz Carroll algebra with dynamical exponent z = 0. We also discuss in the flat case the extension to supersymmetry and show that the flat superparticle is equivalent to the (non-moving) superparticle and that therefore it is not BPS unlike its Galilei counterpart. This is due to the fact that in this case kappa-symmetry eliminates the linearized supersymmetry. In an appendix we discuss the curved case in three-dimensions only and show that there are two theories that are physically different.

Second Noether theorem for quasi-Noether systems

Quasi-Noether differential systems are more general than variational systems and are quite common in mathematical physics. They include practically all differential systems of interest, at least those that have conservation laws. In this paper, we discuss quasi-Noether systems that possess infinite-dimensional (infinite) symmetries involving arbitrary functions of independent variables. For quasi-Noether systems admitting infinite symmetries with arbitrary functions of all independent variables, we state and prove an extension of the second Noether theorem. In addition, we prove that infinite sets of conservation laws involving arbitrary functions of all independent variables are trivial and that the associated differential system is under-determined. We discuss infinite symmetries and infinite conservation laws of two important examples of non-variational quasi-Noether systems: the incompressible Euler equations and the Navier–Stokes equations in vorticity formulation, and we show that the infinite sets of conservation laws involving arbitrary functions of all independent variables are trivial. We also analyze infinite symmetries involving arbitrary functions of not all independent variables, prove that the fluxes of conservation laws in these cases are total divergences on solutions, and demonstrate examples of this situation.

Nonlocal dynamics and infinite nonrelativistic conformal symmetries

We study the symmetry of the class of nonlocal models which includes the nonlocal extension of the Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillator. As a consequence, we obtain an infinite-dimensional symmetry algebra, containing the Virasoro algebra, which can be considered as a generalization of the nonrelativistic conformal symmetries to the infinite order. Moreover, this nonlocal extension resembles to some extent the string model, and on the quantum level, it leads to the centrally extended Virasoro algebra.