BMS Algebra, Double soft theorems, and all that

Abstract

The Lie algebra generated by supertranslation and superrotation vector fields at null infinity, known as the extended BMS (eBMS) algebra is expected to be a symmetry algebra of the quantum gravity S matrix. However, the algebra of commutators of the quantized eBMS charges has been a thorny issue in the literature. On the one hand, recent developments in celestial holography point towards a symmetry algebra which is a closed Lie algebra with no central extension or anomaly, and on the other hand, work of Distler, Flauger and Horn has shown that when these charges are quantized at null infinity, the commutator of a supertranslation and a superrotation charge does not close into a supertranslation but gets deformed by a 2 cocycle term, which is consistent with the original proposal of Barnich and Troessaert. In this paper, we revisit this issue in light of recent developments in the classical understanding of superrotation charges. We show that, for extended BMS symmetries, a phase space at null infinity is an extension of hitherto considered phase spaces which also includes a mode associated to the spin memory and its conjugate partner. We also show that for holomorphic vector fields on the celestial plane, quantization of the eBMS charges in the new phase space leads to an algebra which closes without a 2 cocycle. The degenerate vacua are labelled by the soft news and a Schwarzian mode which corresponds to deformations of the celestial metric by superrotations. The closed eBMS quantum algebra may also lead to a convergence between two manifestations of asymptotic symmetries, one via asymptotic quantization at null infinity and the other through celestial holography.