Paper detail

Relaxing the Parity Conditions of Asymptotically Flat Gravity

Four-dimensional asymptotically flat spacetimes at spatial infinity are defined from first principles without imposing parity conditions or restrictions on the Weyl tensor. The Einstein-Hilbert action is shown to be a correct variational principle when it is supplemented by an anomalous counter-term which breaks asymptotic translation, supertranslation and logarithmic translation invariance. Poincaré transformations as well as supertranslations and logarithmic translations are associated with finite and conserved charges which represent the asymptotic symmetry group. Lorentz charges as well as logarithmic translations transform anomalously under a change of regulator. Lorentz charges are generally non-linear functionals of the asymptotic fields but reduce to well-known linear expressions when parity conditions hold. We also define a covariant phase space of asymptotically flat spacetimes with parity conditions but without restrictions on the Weyl tensor. In this phase space, the anomaly plays classically no dynamical role. Supertranslations are pure gauge and the asymptotic symmetry group is the expected Poincaré group.