BMS-like symmetries in cosmology

TL;DR

This paper explores the asymptotic symmetries of a class of cosmological spacetimes similar to FLRW, revealing a BMS-like algebra without a preferred translation subalgebra, with implications for gravitational radiation and memory effects.

Contribution

It introduces a new class of spacetimes with non-smooth null infinity and diverging stress-energy tensors, extending the BMS symmetry analysis to cosmological settings.

Findings

Asymptotic symmetry algebra resembles BMS but is not isomorphic.

The algebra is a semi-direct sum of supertranslations and Lorentz algebra.

No preferred translation subalgebra exists in this framework.

Abstract

Null infinity in asymptotically flat spacetimes posses a rich mathematical structure; including the BMS group and the Bondi news tensor that allow one to study gravitational radiation rigorously. However, FLRW spacetimes are not asymptotically flat because their stress-energy tensor does not decay sufficiently fast and in fact diverges at null infinity. This class includes matter- and radiation-dominated FLRW spacetimes. We define a class of spacetimes whose structure at null infinity is similar to FLRW spacetimes: the stress-energy tensor is allowed to diverge and the conformal factor is not smooth at null infinity. Interestingly, for this larger class of spacetimes, the asymptotic symmetry algebra is similar to the BMS algebra but not isomorphic to it. In particular, the symmetry algebra is the semi-direct sum of supertranslations and the Lorentz algebra, but it does not have any preferred translation subalgebra. Future applications include studying gravitational radiation in FLRW the full nonlinear theory, including the cosmological memory effect, and also asymptotic charges in this framework.