New Symmetries of Massless QED
read the original abstract
An infinite number of physically nontrivial symmetries are found for abelian gauge theories with massless charged particles. They are generated by large $U(1)$ gauge transformations that asymptotically approach an arbitrary function $\varepsilon(z,\bar{z})$ on the conformal sphere at future null infinity ($\mathscr I^+$) but are independent of the retarded time. The value of $\varepsilon$ at past null infinity ($\mathscr I^-$) is determined from that on $\mathscr I^+$ by the condition that it take the same value at either end of any light ray crossing Minkowski space. The $\varepsilon\neq$ constant symmetries are spontaneously broken in the usual vacuum. The associated Goldstone modes are zero-momentum photons and comprise a $U(1)$ boson living on the conformal sphere. The Ward identity associated with this asymptotic symmetry is shown to be the abelian soft photon theorem.
This paper has not been read by Pith yet.
Forward citations
Cited by 12 Pith papers
-
Locality in effective field theory for inflationary soft modes
The authors define a locality condition for hard-mode states during inflation that unifies local effective dynamics for soft modes, suppression of loop corrections, generalized soft theorems, and absence of infrared d...
-
The Schrodinger Equation as a Gauge Theory
The Schrödinger equation is locally equivalent to a gauge theory with one-form fields in 2+1D and two-form fields in 3+1D, with BF and Chern-Simons terms organizing electromagnetic couplings, anyons, Berry phases, and...
-
Celestial 1-form symmetries
In self-dual Yang-Mills the S-algebra becomes an algebra of 1-form symmetries whose 2-form currents link integrability to the equality of Carrollian corner charges and celestial chiral algebra modes.
-
Toward claiming a detection of gravitational memory
A framework using scale separation in the Isaacson description defines observable gravitational memory rise for compact binary coalescences, providing a basis for hypothesis testing in LISA data.
-
From Asymptotically Flat Gravity to Finite Causal Diamonds
The soft sector phase space of asymptotically flat gravity equals the phase space of radial size fluctuations of a finite causal diamond in flat spacetime.
-
Testing Electromagnetic Memory via Acceleration-Induced Phase Imprints in Superconductors
Proposes a superconducting readout protocol that uses acceleration-induced electric fields in conductors to imprint and detect electromagnetic memory phase shifts.
-
Soft Theorems in Chern-Simons Matter Theories
Derives explicit corrections to subleading soft factors in tree-level amplitudes of Chern-Simons matter theories arising from the boundary terms in their gauge transformations.
-
Subleading Chern-Simons soft factors in perturbative de Sitter
Subleading Chern-Simons soft factors stay insensitive to perturbative 1/ℓ² de Sitter corrections, indicating topological universality at the amplitude level.
-
Comments on Symmetry Operators, Asymptotic Charges and Soft Theorems
1-form symmetries in the QED soft sector generate asymptotic charges whose central extension implies soft photon theorems and fixes a two-soft-photon contact term.
-
Minkowski Space holography and Radon transform
Relates free scalar in Minkowski space to codimension-two sphere field via Radon transform to dS/EAdS slice and bulk reconstruction, with Mellin modes as generalized hypergeometric functions via Lee-Pomeransky method.
-
On symmetries of gravitational on-shell boundary action at null infinity
Fixing null-infinity boundary action ambiguities via 5-point amplitude constraints yields subleading soft theorems and proposes generalized Geroch-tensor Goldstone modes for sub^n-leading soft graviton insertions.
-
Lectures on the Bondi--Metzner--Sachs group and related topics in infrared physics
Lecture notes that build the BMS group from prerequisites to applications in soft theorems, memory effects, and new material on asymptotic conformal Killing horizons.
discussion (0)
Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.