128 research outputs found
Thermodynamics of black branes in asymptotically Lifshitz spacetimes
Recently, a class of gravitational backgrounds in 3+1 dimensions have been
proposed as holographic duals to a Lifshitz theory describing critical
phenomena in 2+1 dimensions with critical exponent . We continue our
earlier work \cite{Bertoldi:2009vn}, exploring the thermodynamic properties of
the "black brane" solutions with horizon topology . We find that
the black branes satisfy the relation where
is the energy density, is the temperature, and is the
entropy density. This matches the expected behavior for a 2+1 dimensional
theory with a scaling symmetry , .Comment: 8 pages, references added and regroupe
Lifshitz-like black brane thermodynamics in higher dimensions
Gravitational backgrounds in d+2 dimensions have been proposed as holographic
duals to Lifshitz-like theories describing critical phenomena in d+1 dimensions
with critical exponent z\geq 1. We numerically explore a
dilaton-Einstein-Maxwell model admitting such backgrounds as solutions. Such
backgrounds are characterized by a temperature T and chemical potential \mu,
and we find how to embed these solutions into AdS for a range of values of z
and d. We find no thermal instability going from the (T\ll\mu) to the (T\gg\mu)
regimes, regardless of the dimension, and find that the solutions smoothly
interpolate between the Lifshitz-like behaviour and the relativistic AdS-like
behaviour. We exploit some conserved quantities to find a relationship between
the energy density E, entropy density s, and number density n,
E=\frac{d}{d+1}(Ts+n\mu), as is required by the isometries of AdS_{d+2}.
Finally, in the (T\ll\mu) regime the entropy density is found to satisfy a
power law s \propto c T^{d/z} \mu^{(z-1)d/z}, and we numerically explore the
dependence of the constant c, a measure of the number of degrees of freedom, on
d and z.Comment: 22 pages, 5 images, references adde
Holographic QCD and Pion Mass
To realize massive pions, we study variations of the holographic model of
massless QCD using the D4/D8/anti-D8 brane configuration proposed by Sakai and
Sugimoto. We propose deformations which break the chiral symmetry explicitly
and compute the mass of the pions and vector mesons. The observed value of the
pion mass can be obtained. We also argue a chiral perturbation corresponding to
our deformation.Comment: 23pages, minor changes, references adde
Energy-Spin Trajectories in AdS_5 x S^5 from Semiclassical Vertex Operators
We study the relation between vertex operators in AdS_5 x S^5 and classical
spinning string solutions. In the limit of large quantum numbers the treatment
of vertex operators becomes semiclassical. In this regime, a given vertex
operator carrying a certain set of quantum numbers defines a singular solution.
We show in a number of examples that this solution coincides with the classical
string solution with the same quantum numbers but written in a different
two-dimensional coordinate system. The marginality condition imposed on an
operator yields a relation between the energy and the other quantum numbers
which is shown to coincide with that of the corresponding classical string
solution. We also argue that in some cases vertex operators in AdS_5 x S^5
cannot be given by expressions similar to the ones in flat space and a more
involved consideration is required.Comment: 23 pages, 1 Figur
A note on fermions in holographic QCD
We study the fermionic sector of a probe D8-brane in the supergravity
background made of D4-branes compactified on a circle with supersymmetry broken
explicitly by the boundary conditions. At low energies the dual field theory is
effectively four-dimensional and has proved surprisingly successful in
recovering qualitative and quantitative properties of QCD. We investigate
fluctuations of the fermionic fields on the probe D8-brane and interpret these
as mesinos (fermionic superpartners of mesons). We demonstrate that the masses
of these modes are comparable to meson masses and show that their interactions
with ordinary mesons are not suppressed.Comment: 21+1 pp, 1 figure; v2: typos corrected, refs. adde
Non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetries in 4d string models
We study the realization of non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetries in 4d field
theory and string theory compactifications. The underlying structure
generalizes the Abelian case, and follows from the interplay between gaugings
of non-Abelian isometries of the scalar manifold and field identifications
making axion-like fields periodic. We present several classes of string
constructions realizing non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetries. In particular,
compactifications with torsion homology classes, where non-Abelianity arises
microscopically from the Hanany-Witten effect, or compactifications with
non-Abelian discrete isometry groups, like twisted tori. We finally focus on
the more interesting case of magnetized branes in toroidal compactifications
and quotients thereof (and their heterotic and intersecting duals), in which
the non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetries imply powerful selection rules for
Yukawa couplings of charged matter fields. In particular, in MSSM-like models
they correspond to discrete flavour symmetries constraining the quark and
lepton mass matrices, as we show in specific examples.Comment: 58 pages; minor typos corrected and references adde
- …