Properties of dual supertranslation charges in asymptotically flat spacetimes

Abstract

We study several properties of some new charges of asymptotically flat spacetimes. These dual supertranslation charges are akin to the magnetic large U(1) charges in QED. In this paper we find the symmetries associated with these charges and show that the global dual supertranslation charge is topological because it is invariant under globally defined, smooth variations of the asymptotic metric. We also exhibit spacetimes where the charge does not vanish and we find dynamical processes that interpolate between regions with different values of these charges.