High Energy Theory Seminar

The existence of conserved asymptotic charges in gravity begs the question of the existence of the stress tensor. In this talk, I will briefly review the stress tensor in asymptotically AdS spacetimes, which will give us the necessary foundation. The primary focus will be to extend this framework to asymptotically flat spacetimes, particularly at future null infinity of its conformal boundary. The Carrollian structure at null infinity, induced by the null-rigged structure, plays a central role. Both intrinsic and extrinsic data at null infinity are crucial for defining the stress tensor. Through the variational principle, I will derive the expression of the stress tensor and explicitly compute it for Kerr spacetime and more general asymptotically flat spacetimes characterized by Bondi mass, news, shear, and angular momentum. Using this stress tensor, the Brown-York charges will be evaluated and compared with the Wald-Zoupas charges. I will conclude by talking about potential directions for future explorations. Based on this paper ([2412.08588] A stress tensor for asymptotically flat spacetime)

The talk is in 469 Lauritsen.

Contact theoryinfo@caltech.edu for Zoom information.