English

Displacement memory and BMS symmetries

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2021-12-10 v3 High Energy Physics - Theory

Abstract

This article reviews one of the most intriguing properties of black hole spacetimes known in the literature -- gravitational memory effect, and its connection with asymptotic symmetries, also termed as Bondi-van der Burg-Metzner-Sachs (BMS) symmetries, emerging near the horizon of black holes. Gravitational memory is a non-oscillatory part of the gravitational wave amplitude which generates a permanent displacement for freely falling test particles or test detectors. We highlight a model scenario where asymptotic symmetries appear as a soldering freedom in the context of stitching of two black hole spacetimes, and examine the impact of the interaction between test detectors and horizon shells. Further, we provide a more realistic approach of computing displacement memory for near-horizon asymptotic symmetries which is analogous to the conventional memory originally obtained at asymptotic null infinity.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2109.13082,
  title  = {Displacement memory and BMS symmetries},
  author = {Shailesh Kumar},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2109.13082},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

17 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for the Proceeding of the Sixteenth Marcel Grossmann Meeting (MG-16)

R2 v1 2026-06-24T06:23:01.875Z