Holographic quantum phase transitions and interacting bulk scalars

We consider a system of two massive, mutually interacting probe real scalar fields, in zero temperature holographic backgrounds. The system does not have any continuous symmetry. For a suitable range of the interaction parameters adhering to the interaction potential between the bulk scalars, we have shown that as one turns on the source for one scalar field, the system may go through a second order quantum critical phase transition across which the second scalar field forms a condensate. We have looked at the resulting phase diagram and numerically computed the condensate. We have also investigated our system in two different backgrounds: $AdS_4$ and $AdS$ soliton, and got similar phase structure.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

Integrability Lost

It is known that classical string dynamics in pure AdS_5\times S^5 is integrable and plays an important role in solvability. This is a deep and central issue in holography. Here we investigate similar classical integrability for a more realistic confining background and provide a negative answer. The dynamics of a class of simple string configurations in AdS soliton background can be mapped to the dynamics of a set of non-linearly coupled oscillators. In a suitable limit of small fluctuations we discuss a quasi-periodic analytic solution of the system. However numerics indicates chaotic behavior as the fluctuations are not small. Integrability implies the existence of a regular foliation of the phase space by invariant manifolds. Our numerics shows how this nice foliation structure is eventually lost due to chaotic motion. We also verify a positive Lyapunov index for chaotic orbits. Our dynamics is roughly similar to other known non-integrable coupled oscillators systems like Henon-Heiles equations.Comment: Acknowledged grant

Plasma balls/kinks as solitons of large NN confining gauge theories

We discuss finite regions of the deconfining phase of a confining gauge theory (plasma balls/kinks) as solitons of the large $N$, long wavelength, effective Lagrangian of the thermal gauge theory expressed in terms of suitable order parameters. We consider a class of confining gauge theories whose effective Lagrangian turns out to be a generic 1 dim. unitary matrix model. The dynamics of this matrix model can be studied by an exact mapping to a non-relativistic many fermion problem on a circle. We present an approximate solution to the equations of motion which corresponds to the motion (in Euclidean time) of the Fermi surface interpolating between the phase where the fermions are uniformly distributed on the circle (confinement phase) and the phase where the fermion distribution has a gap on the circle (deconfinement phase). We later self-consistently verify that the approximation is a good one. We discuss some properties and implications of the solution including the surface tension which turns out to be positive. As a by product of our investigation we point out the problem of obtaining time dependent solutions in the collective field theory formalism due to generic shock formation.Comment: 26+1 pages, 10 figure

Confining Backgrounds and Quantum Chaos in Holography

Classical world-sheet string theory has recently been shown to be nonintegrable and chaotic in various confining string theory backgrounds -- the AdS soliton background in particular. In this paper we study a minisuperspace quantization of the theory and look at properties of the spectrum like the distribution of level spacing, which are indicative of quantum order or chaos. In the quantum spectrum we find a gradual transition from chaotic (Wigner GOE) to integrable (Poisson) regime as we look at higher energies. This is expected since our system is integrable asymptotically, and at higher energies, the dynamics is entirely dominated by the kinetic terms.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures; v2: References adde