Relation between Symmetry Groups for Asymptotically Flat Spacetimes

Abstract: The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the BMS symmetry group, which arises as the asymptotic symmetry group of four-dimensional asymptotically flat spacetimes at null infinity, and to uncover its relation to the Carroll group. Firstly, we illustrate how the BMS group emerges from the analysis of the asymptotic conditions on the gravitational field. We summarise both the original metric-based method by Bondi, Metzner, van der Burg and Sachs, and the geometrical approach by Penrose. Then, we analyse the Carroll Group and, in particular, its conformal extension which, in the case of a conformal transformation of N=2 level, is equivalent to the BMS group in four dimensions. The motivation to study the properties of the groups related to the BMS is that they may shed light on some open question regarding the BMS group itself, such as its representation theory, its extension to higher dimensions and its use for flat holography. We conclude by showing an example on how the Carroll group arises as the symmetry group of plane gravitational waves.