On the Carrollian Nature of the Light Front

Abstract

Motivated by recent advances in non-Lorentzian physics, we revisit the light-cone formulation of quantum field theories. We discuss some interesting subalgebras within the light-cone Poincaré algebra, with a key emphasis on the Carroll, Bargmann, and Galilean kinds. We show that theories on the light front possess a Hamiltonian of the magnetic Carroll type, thereby proposing a straightforward method for deriving magnetic Carroll Hamiltonian actions from Lorentzian field theories.

16 pages, 1 figure, 3 tables, minor modifications and references added, matches published version