A maximally supersymmetric Kondo model

We study the maximally supersymmetric Kondo model obtained by adding a fermionic impurity to N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. While the original Kondo problem describes a defect interacting with a free Fermi liquid of itinerant electrons, here the ambient theory is an interacting CFT, and this introduces qualitatively new features into the system. The model arises in string theory by considering the intersection of a stack of M D5-branes with a stack of N D3-branes, at a point in the D3 worldvolume. We analyze the theory holographically, and propose a dictionary between the Kondo problem and antisymmetric Wilson loops in N=4 SYM. We perform an explicit calculation of the D5 fluctuations in the D3 geometry and determine the spectrum of defect operators. This establishes the stability of the Kondo fixed point together with its basic thermodynamic properties. Known supergravity solutions for Wilson loops allow us to go beyond the probe approximation: the D5s disappear and are replaced by three-form flux piercing a new topologically non-trivial three-sphere in the corrected geometry. This describes the Kondo model in terms of a geometric transition. A dual matrix model reflects the basic properties of the corrected gravity solution in its eigenvalue distribution.Comment: 46 pages, 2 figures. Minor typos correcte

Holographic p-wave Superconductors in Quasi-topological Gravity

We construct a holographic p-wave superconductor model in the framework of quasi-topological gravity in the probe limit. The relation between the critical temperature and the coupling parameters of higher curvature terms is investigated. The numerical results for conductivity are presented as well. It turns out that our data fits the Drude model very well in the low frequency limit, and the values of DC conductivity as well as the relaxation time are obtained numerically.Comment: 22pages, many figures, published in Class. Quantum Gra