Diffeomorphism Symmetry in Two Dimensions and Celestial Holography

Abstract: Two-dimensional diffeomorphism symmetry can be described by an operator algebra extension of the well-known Virasoro algebra description of conformal symmetry. Utilizing this extension, this note explains why the conformal symmetry that appears in celestial holography should not be extended to diffeomorphism symmetry, a possibility that several authors have proposed. The description of the two-dimensional diffeomorphism algebra presented here might be useful for other purposes.