On Newton-Cartan trace anomalies

Abstract

We classify the trace anomaly for parity-invariant non-relativistic Schrödinger theories in 2 + 1 dimensions coupled to background Newton-Cartan gravity. The general anomaly structure looks very different from the one in the z = 2 Lifshitz theories. The type A content of the anomaly is remarkably identical to that of the relativistic 3 + 1 dimensional case, suggesting the conjecture that an a-theorem should exist also in the Newton-Cartan context.