Theory of universal incoherent metallic transport

In an incoherent metal, transport is controlled by the collective diffusion of energy and charge rather than by quasiparticle or momentum relaxation. We explore the possibility of a universal bound $D \gtrsim \hbar v_F^2/(k_B T)$ on the underlying diffusion constants in an incoherent metal. Such a bound is loosely motivated by results from holographic duality, the uncertainty principle and from measurements of diffusion in strongly interacting non-metallic systems. Metals close to saturating this bound are shown to have a linear in temperature resistivity with an underlying dissipative timescale matching that recently deduced from experimental data on a wide range of metals. This bound may be responsible for the ubiquitous appearance of high temperature regimes in metals with $T$-linear resistivity, motivating direct probes of diffusive processes and measurements of charge susceptibilities.Comment: 1+17 pages + references. 2 figures, v2 minor improvements to discussion, v3 improved presentation and discussio

Anyonic strings and membranes in AdS space and dual Aharonov-Bohm effects

It is observed that strings in AdS_5 x S^5 and membranes in AdS_7 x S^4 exhibit long range phase interactions. Two well separated membranes dragged around one another in AdS acquire phases of 2\pi/N. The same phases are acquired by a well separated F and D string dragged around one another. The phases are shown to correspond to both the standard and a novel type of Aharonov-Bohm effect in the dual field theory.Comment: 1+13 pages. 3 figure

Resistivity bound for hydrodynamic bad metals

We obtain a rigorous upper bound on the resistivity $\rho$ of an electron fluid whose electronic mean free path is short compared to the scale of spatial inhomogeneities. When such a hydrodynamic electron fluid supports a non-thermal diffusion process -- such as an imbalance mode between different bands -- we show that the resistivity bound becomes $\rho \lesssim A \, \Gamma$. The coefficient $A$ is independent of temperature and inhomogeneity lengthscale, and $\Gamma$ is a microscopic momentum-preserving scattering rate. In this way we obtain a unified and novel mechanism -- without umklapp -- for $\rho \sim T^2$ in a Fermi liquid and the crossover to $\rho \sim T$ in quantum critical regimes. This behavior is widely observed in transition metal oxides, organic metals, pnictides and heavy fermion compounds and has presented a longstanding challenge to transport theory. Our hydrodynamic bound allows phonon contributions to diffusion constants, including thermal diffusion, to directly affect the electrical resistivity.Comment: 1 + 11 + 9 pages; 1 figur

Spectral weight in holographic scaling geometries

We compute the low energy spectral density of transverse currents in theories with holographic duals that exhibit an emergent scaling symmetry characterized by dynamical critical exponent $z$ and hyperscaling violation exponent $\theta$. For any finite $z$ and $\theta$, the low energy spectral density is exponentially small at nonzero momentum. This indicates that any nonzero momentum low energy excitations of putative hidden Fermi surfaces are not visible in the classical bulk limit. We furthermore show that if the limit $z \to \infty$ is taken with the ratio $\eta = - \theta/z > 0$ held fixed, then the resulting theory is locally quantum critical with an entropy density that vanishes at low temperatures as $s \sim T^\eta$. In these cases the low energy spectral weight at nonzero momentum is not exponentially suppressed, possibly indicating a more fermionic nature of these theories.Comment: 1+19 pages, no figures. v2 references adde

Kinetic theory of transport for inhomogeneous electron fluids

The interplay between electronic interactions and disorder is neglected in the conventional Boltzmann theory of transport, yet can play an essential role in determining the resistivity of unconventional metals. When quasiparticles are long-lived, one can account for these intertwined effects by solving spatially inhomogeneous Boltzmann equations. Assuming smooth disorder and neglecting umklapp scattering, we solve these inhomogeneous kinetic equations and compute the electrical resistivity across the ballistic-to-hydrodynamic transition. An important consequence of electron-electron interactions is the modification of the momentum relaxation time; this effect is ignored in the conventional theory. We characterize precisely when interactions enhance the momentum scattering rate, and when they decrease it. Our approach unifies existing semiclassical theories of transport and reveals novel transport mechanisms. In particular, we explain how the resistivity can be proportional to the rate of momentum-conserving collisions. We compare this result with existing transport mysteries, including the disorder-independent $T^2$ resistivity of many Fermi liquids, and the linear-in-$T$ "Planckian-limited" resistivity of many strange metals.Comment: 1+37+15 pages; 9 figures. v2: minor changes. v3: published versio

Spacetime foam in twistor string theory

We show how a Kahler spacetime foam in four dimensional conformal (super)gravity may be mapped to twistor spaces carrying the D1 brane charge of the B model topological string theory. The spacetime foam is obtained by blowing up an arbitrary number of points in \C^2 and can be interpreted as a sum over gravitational instantons. Some twistor spaces for blowups of \C^2 are known explicitly. In these cases we write down a meromorphic volume form and suggest a relation to a holomorphic superform on a corresponding super Calabi-Yau manifold.Comment: 36 pages, 5 figures. Very minor rewordin

Entanglement entropy in two dimensional string theory

To understand an emergent spacetime is to understand the emergence of locality. Entanglement entropy is a powerful diagnostic of locality, because locality leads to a large amount of short distance entanglement. Two dimensional string theory is among the very simplest instances of an emergent spatial dimension. We compute the entanglement entropy in the large $N$ matrix quantum mechanics dual to two dimensional string theory, in the semiclassical limit of weak string coupling. We isolate a logarithmically large, but finite, contribution that corresponds to the short distance entanglement of the tachyon field in the emergent spacetime. From the spacetime point of view, the entanglement is regulated by a nonperturbative `graininess' of space.Comment: 1+15 page

Holographic mutual information and distinguishability of Wilson loop and defect operators

The mutual information of disconnected regions in large $N$ gauge theories with holographic gravity duals can undergo phase transitions. These occur when connected and disconnected bulk Ryu-Takayanagi surfaces exchange dominance. That is, the bulk `soap bubble' snaps as the boundary regions are drawn apart. We give a gauge-theoretic characterization of this transition: States with and without a certain defect operator insertion -- the defect separates the entangled spatial regions -- are shown to be perfectly distinguishable if and only if the Ryu-Takayanagi surface is connected. Meanwhile, states with and without a certain Wilson loop insertion -- the Wilson loop nontrivially threads the spatial regions -- are perfectly distinguishable if and only if the Ryu-Takayanagi surface is disconnected. The quantum relative entropy of two perfectly distinguishable states is infinite. The results are obtained by relating the soap bubble transition to Hawking-Page (deconfinement) transitions in the Renyi entropies, where defect operators and Wilson loops are known to act as order parameters.Comment: 1+21 pages. 11 figure

Scaling theory of the cuprate strange metals

We show that the anomalous temperature scaling of five distinct transport quantities in the strange metal regime of the cuprate superconductors can be reproduced with only two nontrivial critical exponents. The quantities are: (i) the electrical resistivity, (ii) the Hall angle, (iii) the Hall Lorenz ratio, (iv) the magnetoresistance and (v) the thermopower. The exponents are the dynamical critical exponent z = 4/3 and an anomalous scaling dimension Phi = -2/3 for the charge density operator.Comment: 1 + 15 pages + references. 1 figure. v2 improved discussion, references adde

Locally critical umklapp scattering and holography

Efficient momentum relaxation through umklapp scattering, leading to a power law in temperature d.c. resistivity, requires a significant low energy spectral weight at finite momentum. One way to achieve this is via a Fermi surface structure, leading to the well-known relaxation rate Gamma ~ T^2. We observe that local criticality, in which energies scale but momenta do not, provides a distinct route to efficient umklapp scattering. We show that umklapp scattering by an ionic lattice in a locally critical theory leads to Gamma ~ T^(2\Delta(k_L)). Here \Delta(k_L) \geq 0 is the dimension of the (irrelevant or marginal) charge density operator J^t(w,k_L) in the locally critical theory, at the lattice momentum k_L. We illustrate this result with an explicit computation in locally critical theories described holographically via Einstein-Maxwell theory in Anti-de Sitter spacetime. We furthermore show that scattering by random impurities in these locally critical theories gives a universal Gamma ~ 1/log(1/T)Comment: 17 pages, 1 figure. v2 reference adde