Instability in ${\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on $S^3$ at finite density

Alex Buchel

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arXiv · 2603.27821

Instability in ${\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on $S^3$ at finite density

Alex Buchel

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Abstract

Homogeneous and isotropic equilibrium states of strongly coupled ${\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills charged plasma in ${\mathbb R}^3$ with equal chemical potentials for the maximal Abelian subgroup of the $R$-symmetry group become dynamically unstable below some critical temperature. The instabilities arise in the $R$-symmetry charge transport, precisely when the equilibrium state becomes thermodynamically unstable. We study the fate these correlated instabilities when the theory is placed on $S^3$. The curvature of the three-sphere affects the onset of the dynamical and the thermodynamic instabilities differently: increasing the curvature at low temperatures can stabilize its transport, but leave the plasma thermodynamically unstable. Thermodynamic stability is never recovered provided the $S^3$ volume is allowed to fluctuate.

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Alex Buchel. 2026-03-29. Instability in ${\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on $S^3$ at finite density. https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.27821

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