Holographic thermalization in finite-size systems

The AdS/CFT correspondence has provided a fascinating window into the real-time dynamics of strongly-coupled QFTs. On the other hand, studies of gravitational collapse in asymptotically global AdS spacetimes have unraveled a surprisingly rich landscape of possible routes to final black hole formation or its absence thereof, that depend both on the precise dynamics and the initial state considered. In the light of the equivalence between gravitational collapse and thermalization implied by the duality, it is natural to wonder which universal lessons these results entail on the out-of-equilibrium physics of isolated, macroscopic quantum systems at strong coupling. This thesis aims to be a modest step in elucidating this question

Holographic quenches with a gap

In order to holographically model quenches with a gapped final hamiltonian, we consider a gravity-scalar theory in anti-de Sitter space with an infrared hard wall. We allow a time dependent profile for the scalar field at the wall. This induces an energy exchange between bulk and wall and generates an oscillating scalar pulse. We argue that such backgrounds are the counterpart of quantum revivals in the dual field theory. We perform a qualitative comparison with the quench dynamics of the massive Schwinger model, which has been recently analyzed using tensor network techniques. Agreement is found provided the width of the oscillating scalar pulse is inversely linked to the energy density communicated by the quench. We propose this to be a general feature of holographic quenches.The work of E.daS. is nanced by the spanish grant BES-2013-063972. E.L. has been supported by the spanish grant FPA2012-32828 and SEV-2012-0249 of the Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa Programme. The work of J.M. is supported in part by the spanish grant FPA2011-22594, by Xunta de Galicia (GRC2013- 024), by the Consolider-CPAN (CSD2007-00042), and by FEDER. A.S. is supported by the European Research Council grant HotLHC ERC-2011-StG-279579 and by Xunta de Galicia (Conselleria de Educaci on). Part of the numerical calculations were performed at the Centro de Supercomputaci on de Galicia (CESGA).S