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arxiv: 2509.13401 · v2 · pith:HR3HASXMnew · submitted 2025-09-16 · ✦ hep-th · gr-qc· quant-ph

Effective density matrix for vacua in asymptotically flat gravity

classification ✦ hep-th gr-qcquant-ph
keywords modeactiondensityeffectivematrixsoftassociatedasymptotically
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We explicitly construct the density matrix associated to the vacuum state of a large spherically symmetric causal diamond of area $A$ in four-dimensional asymptotically flat gravity. We achieve this using the soft effective action, which characterizes the low-energy gravitational degrees of freedom that arise in the long-distance limit of the Einstein-Hilbert action and consists of both the soft graviton mode and the Goldstone mode arising from the spontaneous breaking of supertranslation symmetry. Integrating out the soft graviton mode, we obtain an effective action for purely the Goldstone mode, from which we extract the density matrix and therefore the modular Hamiltonian $K_s$ associated to the vacuum state. As a corollary, we explicitly compute the mean and variance of $K_s$, finding $\langle \Delta {K}_s^2 \rangle = A/\epsilon_{\text{UV}}^2$, with $\epsilon_{\text{UV}}$ being a length-scale UV cutoff on the celestial sphere.

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  1. From Asymptotically Flat Gravity to Finite Causal Diamonds

    hep-th 2025-12 unverdicted novelty 6.0

    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.