Asymptotic Dynamics in Perturbative Quantum Gravity and BMS Supertranslations

Abstract

Recently it has been shown that infrared divergences in the conventional S-matrix elements of gauge and gravitational theories arise from a violation of the conservation laws associated with large gauge symmetries. These infrared divergences can be cured by using the Faddeev-Kulish (FK) asymptotic states as the basis for S-matrix elements. Motivated by this connection, we study the action of BMS supertranslations on the FK asymptotic states of perturbative quantum gravity. We compute the BMS charge of the FK states and show that it characterizes the superselection sector to which the state belongs. Conservation of the BMS charge then implies that there is no transition between different superselection sectors, hence showing that the FK graviton clouds implement the necessary vacuum transition induced by the scattering process.

39 pages

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• On the need for soft dressing
• Dressed states from gauge invariance
• Conservation Laws from Asymptotic Symmetry and Subleading Charges in QED
• Double Soft Graviton Theorems and BMS Symmetries
• Gravitational Wu-Yang Monopoles
• Magnetic Soft Charges, Dual Supertranslations and 't Hooft Line Dressings
• Asymptotic Charges and Coherent States in QCD
• Infrared finite scattering theory: Amplitudes and soft theorems
• QED as a many-body theory of worldlines: I. General formalism and infrared structure
• Generalized coherent states in QCD from asymptotic symmetries
• Infrared Finite Scattering Theory in Quantum Field Theory and Quantum Gravity
• Celestial Quantum Error Correction II: From Qudits to Celestial CFT