Horizon Edge Partition Functions in Quantum Gravity
arXiv:2603.20913 · doi:10.1103/c683-tqw8
Abstract
We obtain the spectra of codimension-2 horizon "edge" degrees of freedom for gravity and higher-spin gauge fields in de Sitter space and in the static Nariai spacetime, advancing previous Lorentzian and Euclidean analyses of one-loop thermodynamics. The edge spectra exhibit universal shift symmetries, revealing a novel symmetry-breaking structure in one-loop partition functions with positive cosmological constant. For the graviton, these modes admit a geometric interpretation as fluctuations of the cosmic horizon, which also persists in the Nariai case.
6 pages + appendix, 2 figures. Short PRL version of arXiv:2501.17912 and arXiv:2506.02142. Published PRL version