Conformal supergravity, twistors, and the super-BMS group (Q1081865)

Consider, in general relativity, asymptotically flat spacetimes at null infinity. In the generic case, when the curvature fall off does not rule out gravitational radiation, the symmetry group of the entire asymptotic structure (geometry and fields) is the infinite dimensional BMS group. The translations form a canonical invariant Abelian subgroup of the BMS group but no Poincaré subgroup naturally emerges from the BMS group. Understanding of the BMS group is crucial for the construction of asymptotically conserved quantities and for schemes of asymptotic quantization. In the present paper the authors carry out a project like the one above and they determine the asymptotic symmetry supergroup for \(N=1\) supergravity in any number of spacetime dimensions. The asymptotic symmetries split into fermionic and bosonic symmetries. An invariant subgroup is isolated (similar to the group of translations), containing just two fermionic generators. The construction of the super-BMS group parallels the construction of the super-Poincaré group on superspace; one considers its action at infinity and by solving the twistor equation on the asymptotic null boundary (scri), one obtains the supersymmetry parameters defining the super-BMS group. The paper could also be used for very good quick introductions to different topics like the description of general relativity, supergravity, and conformal supergravity as gauge theories, the construction of asymptotes for asymptotically flat spacetimes, Killing and conformal Killing vectors and spinors, and the twistor equation.