Note on counterterms in asymptotically flat spacetimes

Abstract

We consider in more detail the covariant counterterm proposed by Mann and Marolf in asymptotically flat spacetimes. With an eye to specific practical computations using this counterterm, we present explicit expressions in general $d$ dimensions that can be used in the so-called “cylindrical cutoff” to compute the action and the associated conserved quantities for an asymptotically flat spacetime. As applications, we show how to compute the action and the conserved quantities for the NUT-charged spacetime and for the Kerr black hole in four dimensions.