Abstract
The Mann-Marolf surface term is a specific candidate for the “reference background term” that is to be subtracted from the Gibbons-Hawking surface term in order make the total gravitational action of asymptotically flat spacetimes finite. That is, the total gravitational action is taken to be: . As presented by Mann and Marolf, their surface term is specified implicitly in terms of the Ricci tensor of the boundary. Herein, I demonstrate that, for the physically interesting case of a ()-dimensional bulk spacetime, the Mann-Marolf surface term can be specified explicitly in terms of the Einstein tensor of the ()-dimensional boundary.
- Received 2 September 2008
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.79.024023
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