  Superrotations arise from singular vector fields on the celestial sphere in
asymptotically flat space, and their finite integrated versions have been
argued by Strominger and Zhiboedov to insert cosmic strings into the spacetime.
In this work, we argue for an alternative definition of the action of
superrotations on Minkowski space that avoids introducing any defects. This
involves realizing the finite superrotation not as a diffeomorphism between
spaces, but as a mapping of Minkowski space to itself that may be multivalued
or non-surjective. This eliminates any defects in the bulk spacetime at the
expense of allowing for defects in the boundary celestial sphere metric. We
further explore the geometry of the spatial surfaces in the superrotated
spaces, and note that they intersect null infinity at the singularity of the
superrotation, causing a breakdown in the large $r$ asymptotic expansion there.
To determine how these surfaces embed into Minkowski space, a derivation of the
finite superrotation transformation is presented in both Bondi and Newman-Unti
gauges. The latter is particularly interesting, since the superrotations are
shown to preserve the hyperbolic slicing of Minkowski space in Newman-Unti
gauge, and this gauge also provides a means for extending the geometry beyond
the Bondi coordinate patch. We argue that the new interpretation for the action
of superrotations on spacetime motivates consideration of a wider class of
celestial sphere metrics and asymptotic symmetry groups.
