Trivialization of the gravitational Green-Schwarz transformation in the non-relativistic limit of string theory

Abstract

We show that the gravitational Green-Schwarz (GS) transformation becomes trivial in the non-relativistic (NR) limit of ten-dimensional heterotic supergravity with four-derivative corrections. This constitutes an important step towards establishing the trivialization of the GS mechanism in this limit. In this work, we perform a NR expansion of the Kalb-Ramond field and identify the finite Green-Schwarz transformation in this limit, which can be interpreted as a non-covariant $SO(8)$ transformation. We then construct an explicit field redefinition such that the redefined two-form is invariant under this symmetry. This result is compared with the previously reported trivialization of the gauge GS mechanism under the same limit. Both field redefinitions can be implemented simultaneously, and the associated Chern-Simons terms are exact, arising directly from the redefinition structure, and leading to a trivial Bianchi identity. These results support the expectation that anomaly cancellation becomes automatic in the NR regime, and therefore we discuss their potential implications.