355 research outputs found
Holographic Metamagnetism, Quantum Criticality, and Crossover Behavior
Using high-precision numerical analysis, we show that 3+1 dimensional gauge
theories holographically dual to 4+1 dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-Chern-Simons
theory undergo a quantum phase transition in the presence of a finite charge
density and magnetic field. The quantum critical theory has dynamical scaling
exponent z=3, and is reached by tuning a relevant operator of scaling dimension
2. For magnetic field B above the critical value B_c, the system behaves as a
Fermi liquid. As the magnetic field approaches B_c from the high field side,
the specific heat coefficient diverges as 1/(B-B_c), and non-Fermi liquid
behavior sets in. For B<B_c the entropy density s becomes non-vanishing at zero
temperature, and scales according to s \sim \sqrt{B_c - B}. At B=B_c, and for
small non-zero temperature T, a new scaling law sets in for which s\sim
T^{1/3}. Throughout a small region surrounding the quantum critical point, the
ratio s/T^{1/3} is given by a universal scaling function which depends only on
the ratio (B-B_c)/T^{2/3}.
The quantum phase transition involves non-analytic behavior of the specific
heat and magnetization but no change of symmetry. Above the critical field, our
numerical results are consistent with those predicted by the Hertz/Millis
theory applied to metamagnetic quantum phase transitions, which also describe
non-analytic changes in magnetization without change of symmetry. Such
transitions have been the subject of much experimental investigation recently,
especially in the compound Sr_3 Ru_2 O_7, and we comment on the connections.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures v2: added ref
Domain Wall Holography for Finite Temperature Scaling Solutions
We investigate a class of near-extremal solutions of Einstein-Maxwell-scalar
theory with electric charge and power law scaling, dual to charged IR phases of
relativistic field theories at low temperature. These are exact solutions of
theories with domain wall vacua; hence, we use nonconformal holography to
relate the bulk and boundary theories. We numerically construct a global
interpolating solution between the IR charged solutions and the UV domain wall
vacua for arbitrary physical choices of Lagrangian parameters. By passing to a
conformal frame in which the domain wall metric becomes that of AdS, we uncover
a generalized scale invariance of the IR scaling solution, indicating a
connection to the physics of Lifshitz fixed points. Finally, guided by
effective field theoretic principles and the physics of nonconformal D-branes,
we argue for the applicability of domain wall holography even in theories with
AdS critical points, namely those theories for which a scalar potential is
dominated by a single exponential term over a large range
The entropy of black holes: a primer
After recalling the definition of black holes, and reviewing their energetics
and their classical thermodynamics, one expounds the conjecture of Bekenstein,
attributing an entropy to black holes, and the calculation by Hawking of the
semi-classical radiation spectrum of a black hole, involving a thermal
(Planckian) factor. One then discusses the attempts to interpret the black-hole
entropy as the logarithm of the number of quantum micro-states of a macroscopic
black hole, with particular emphasis on results obtained within string theory.
After mentioning the (technically cleaner, but conceptually more intricate)
case of supersymmetric (BPS) black holes and the corresponding counting of the
degeneracy of Dirichlet-brane systems, one discusses in some detail the
``correspondence'' between massive string states and non-supersymmetric
Schwarzschild black holes.Comment: 51 pages, 4 figures, talk given at the "Poincare seminar" (Paris, 6
December 2003), to appear in Poincare Seminar 2003 (Birkhauser
10 simple rules to create a serious game, illustrated with examples from structural biology
Serious scientific games are games whose purpose is not only fun. In the
field of science, the serious goals include crucial activities for scientists:
outreach, teaching and research. The number of serious games is increasing
rapidly, in particular citizen science games, games that allow people to
produce and/or analyze scientific data. Interestingly, it is possible to build
a set of rules providing a guideline to create or improve serious games. We
present arguments gathered from our own experience ( Phylo , DocMolecules ,
HiRE-RNA contest and Pangu) as well as examples from the growing literature on
scientific serious games
Early-Time Energy Loss in a Strongly-Coupled SYM Plasma
We carry out an analytic study of the early-time motion of a quark in a
strongly-coupled maximally-supersymmetric Yang-Mills plasma, using the AdS/CFT
correspondence. Our approach extracts the first thermal effects as a small
perturbation of the known quark dynamics in vacuum, using a double expansion
that is valid for early times and for (moderately) ultrarelativistic quark
velocities. The quark is found to lose energy at a rate that differs
significantly from the previously derived stationary/late-time result: it
scales like T^4 instead of T^2, and is associated with a friction coefficient
that is not independent of the quark momentum. Under conditions representative
of the quark-gluon plasma as obtained at RHIC, the early energy loss rate is a
few times smaller than its late-time counterpart. Our analysis additionally
leads to thermally-corrected expressions for the intrinsic energy and momentum
of the quark, in which the previously discovered limiting velocity of the quark
is found to appear naturally.Comment: 39 pages, no figures. v2: Minor corrections and clarifications.
References added. Version to be published in JHE
Non-Supersymmetric String Theory
A class of non-supersymmetric string backgrounds can be constructed using
twists that involve space-time fermion parity. We propose a non-perturbative
definition of string theory in these backgrounds via gauge theories with
supersymmetry softly broken by twisted boundary conditions. The perturbative
string spectrum is reproduced, and qualitative effects of the interactions are
discussed. Along the way, we find an interesting mechanism for inflation. The
end state of closed string tachyon condensation is a highly excited state in
the gauge theory which, in all likelihood, does not have a geometric
interpretation.Comment: 35 pages, 2 figures; revision adds a computation of the relevant
orbifold state
Aspects of holography for theories with hyperscaling violation
We analyze various aspects of the recently proposed holographic theories with
general dynamical critical exponent z and hyperscaling violation exponent
. We first find the basic constraints on from the gravity
side, and compute the stress-energy tensor expectation values and scalar
two-point functions. Massive correlators exhibit a nontrivial exponential
behavior at long distances, controlled by . At short distance, the
two-point functions become power-law, with a universal form for .
Next, the calculation of the holographic entanglement entropy reveals the
existence of novel phases which violate the area law. The entropy in these
phases has a behavior that interpolates between that of a Fermi surface and
that exhibited by systems with extensive entanglement entropy. Finally, we
describe microscopic embeddings of some metrics into full
string theory models -- these metrics characterize large regions of the
parameter space of Dp-brane metrics for . For instance, the theory of
N D2-branes in IIA supergravity has z=1 and over a wide range
of scales, at large .Comment: 35 pages; v2: new references added; v3: proper reference [14] added;
v4: minor clarification
On the Beaming of Gluonic Fields at Strong Coupling
We examine the conditions for beaming of the gluonic field sourced by a heavy
quark in strongly-coupled conformal field theories, using the AdS/CFT
correspondence. Previous works have found that, contrary to naive expectations,
it is possible to set up collimated beams of gluonic radiation despite the
strong coupling. We show that, on the gravity side of the correspondence, this
follows directly (for arbitrary quark motion, and independently of any
approximations) from the fact that the string dual to the quark remains
unexpectedly close to the AdS boundary whenever the quark moves
ultra-relativistically. We also work out the validity conditions for a related
approximation scheme that proposed to explain the beaming effect though the
formation of shock waves in the bulk fields emitted by the string. We find that
these conditions are fulfilled in the case of ultra-relativistic uniform
circular motion that motivated the proposal, but unfortunately do not hold for
much more general quark trajectories.Comment: 1+33 pages, 2 figure
Towards strange metallic holography
We initiate a holographic model building approach to `strange metallic'
phenomenology. Our model couples a neutral Lifshitz-invariant quantum critical
theory, dual to a bulk gravitational background, to a finite density of gapped
probe charge carriers, dually described by D-branes. In the physical regime of
temperature much lower than the charge density and gap, we exhibit anomalous
scalings of the temperature and frequency dependent conductivity. Choosing the
dynamical critical exponent appropriately we can match the non-Fermi liquid
scalings, such as linear resistivity, observed in strange metal regimes. As
part of our investigation we outline three distinct string theory realizations
of Lifshitz geometries: from F theory, from polarised branes, and from a
gravitating charged Fermi gas. We also identify general features of
renormalisation group flow in Lifshitz theories, such as the appearance of
relevant charge-charge interactions when . We outline a program to
extend this model building approach to other anomalous observables of interest
such as the Hall conductivity.Comment: 71 pages, 8 figure
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