Double-soft graviton amplitudes and the extended BMS charge algebra

• Main Authors: Jacques Distler, Raphael Flauger, Bart Horn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2019-08-01
• Series: Journal of High Energy Physics
• Subjects: Classical Theories of Gravity; Gauge Symmetry; Scattering Amplitudes; Space-Time Symmetries
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/JHEP08(2019)021

Abstract We discuss how scattering amplitudes in 4d Minkowski spacetime which involve multiple soft gravitons realize the algebra of BMS charges on the null boundary. In particular, we show how the commutator of two such charges is realized by the antisymmetrized consecutive soft limit of the double soft amplitude. The commutator is expected to be robust even in the presence of quantum corrections, and the associated Lie algebra has an extension, which breaks the BMS symmetry if the BMS algebra is taken to include the Virasoro algebra of local superrotations. We discuss the implications of this structure for the existence of a 2d CFT dual description for 4d scattering amplitudes.