Higher-curvature corrections and near horizon symmetries

TL;DR

This paper explores the infinite-dimensional near-horizon symmetries of black holes in higher-curvature gravitational theories, generalizing known results and connecting charges to topological invariants and the JT action.

Contribution

It extends the analysis of near-horizon symmetries and conserved charges to arbitrary curvature theories, including Lovelock, and relates these charges to topological invariants and the JT action.

Findings

Conserved charges are computable in arbitrary curvature theories.

Charges relate to topological invariants in Lovelock gravity.

In 4D, charges reduce to the JT action on the horizon.

Abstract

In the near-horizon region, black holes exhibit an infinite-dimensional symmetry reminiscent of the Bondi-Metzner-Sachs (BMS) supertranslations. The conserved charges associated with this symmetry can be computed in gravitational theories of arbitrary spacetime dimension and involving curvature terms of any order. In Lovelock theory, for instance, these charges take the form of nested Lagrangian densities corresponding to topological invariants, each weighted by the supertranslation function -- thus providing a natural generalization of the Wald entropy formula. In four dimensions, the computation of the supertranslation charge reduces to the evaluation of the Jackiw-Teitelboim (JT) action on the two-dimensional spacelike sections of the event horizon.