arXiv subjects

Mohammad Edalati

Publications and source records attributed to Mohammad Edalati.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2015

Dyonic Stars for Holography

We construct back-reacted asymptotically AdS_4 backgrounds with both electric and magnetic charge, at finite temperature and chemical potential. The system consists of a condensed bulk Dirac field hovering over a charged black brane. We give a detailed microscopic treatment of the bulk fermions, from which we derive the usual fluid approximations describing the condensate. In the context of holography, such a gravitational solution is dual to a (2+1)-dimensional CFT with a U(1) current, at finite density and strong coupling, subjected to a transverse magnetic field.

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arXiv2013

Aspects of Current Correlators in Holographic Theories with Hyperscaling Violation

We study the low energy and low momentum behavior of current correlators in a class of holographic zero-temperature finite density critical theories which do not respect the hyperscaling relation. The dual holographic description is assumed to be given by probe D-branes embedded in background geometries characterized by a dynamical critical exponent $z$ and a hyperscaling violation exponent $θ$. We show that a subset of these theories with $1\leq z<2(1-θ/d)$ exhibit a stable linearly-dispersing mode in their low energy spectrum of excitations. This mode, which appears as a pole in the retarded correlators of charge density and longitudinal currents, has some characteristics similar to that of the zero sound in Fermi liquids. Given some reasonable assumptions, we argue that the class of theories with $θ=d-1$ that logarithmically violate the area law in the entanglement entropy in a manner reminiscent of theories with Fermi surfaces, does \emph {not} exhibit a zero sound-like mode in the low energy spectrum of the probe sector. Furthermore, utilizing the holographic Wilsonian approach, we explicitly show that such a mode has a natural interpretation as a Goldston boson arising from the spontaneous breaking of a specific symmetry.

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arXiv2013

Quantum Fluctuations in Holographic Theories with Hyperscaling Violation

In this short note we use holographic methods to study the response of quantum critical points with hyperscaling violation to a disturbance caused by a massive charged particle. We give analytical expressions for the two-point functions of the fluctuations of the massive probe as a function of arbitrary (allowed) values of the hyperscaling violation exponent θ and the dynamical exponent z. We point out the existence of markedly different behaviors of the two-point functions in the parameter space of θ and z at late times. In particular, as expected, the late-time dynamics of the probe becomes independent of its inertial mass in the range z+2θ/d>2.

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arXiv2012

Pomeranchuk Instability in a non-Fermi Liquid from Holography

The Pomeranchuk instability, in which an isotropic Fermi surface distorts and becomes anisotropic due to strong interactions, is a possible mechanism for the growing number of experimental systems which display transport properties that differ along the $x$ and $y$ axes. We show here that the gauge-gravity duality can be used to describe such an instability in fermionic systems. Our holographic model consists of fermions in a background which describes the causal propagation of a massive neutral spin-two field in an asymptotically AdS spacetime. The Fermi surfaces in the boundary theory distort spontaneously and become anisotropic once the neutral massive spin-two field develops a normalizable mode in the bulk. Analysis of the fermionic correlators reveals that the low-lying fermionic excitations are non-Fermi liquid-like both before and after the Fermi surface shape distortion. Further, the spectral weight along the Fermi surface is angularly dependent and can be made to vanish along certain directions.

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arXiv2012

Fast Scramblers and Non-Commutative Gauge Theories

Fast scramblers are quantum systems which thermalize in a time scale logarithmic in the number of degrees of freedom of the system. Non-locality has been argued to be an essential feature of fast scramblers. We provide evidence in support of the crucial role of non-locality in such systems by considering the approach to thermalization in a (strongly-coupled) high temperature non-commutative gauge theory. We show that non-locality inherent to non-commutative gauge theories does indeed accelerate the rate of dissipation in the heat bath in stark contrast to the slow random walk diffusive behavior prevalent in local field theories.

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arXiv2011

Neutral Order Parameters in Metallic Criticality in d=2+1 from a Hairy Electron Star

We use holography to study the spontaneous condensation of a neutral order parameter in a (2+1)-dimensional field theory at zero-temperature and finite density, dual to the electron star background of Hartnoll and Tavanfar. An appealing feature of this field theory is the emergence of an IR Lifshitz fixed-point with a finite dynamical critical exponent $z$, which is due to the strong interaction between critical bosonic degrees of freedom and a finite density of fermions (metallic quantum criticality). We show that under some circumstances the electron star background develops a neutral scalar hair whose holographic interpretation is that the boundary field theory undergoes a quantum phase transition, with a Berezinski-Kosterlitz-Thouless character, to a phase with a neutral order parameter. Including the backreaction of the bulk neutral scalar on the background, we argue that the two phases across the quantum critical point have different $z$, a novelty that exists in certain quantum phase transitions in condensed matter systems. We also analyze the system at finite temperature and find that the phase transition becomes, as expected, second-order. Embedding the neutral scalar into a higher form, a variety of interesting phases could potentially be realized for the boundary field theory. Examples which are of particular interest to condensed matter physics include an antiferromagnetic phase where a vector condenses and break the spin symmetry, a quadrupole nematic phase which involves the condensation of a symmetric traceless tensor breaking rotational symmetry, or different phases of a system with competing order parameters.

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arXiv2011

Dynamically Generated Gap from Holography: Mottness from a Black Hole

In the fermionic sector of top-down approaches to holographic systems, one generically finds that the fermions are coupled to gravity and gauge fields in a variety of ways, beyond minimal coupling. In this paper, we take one such interaction -- a Pauli, or dipole, interaction -- and study its effects on fermion correlators. We find that this interaction modifies the fermion spectral density in a remarkable way. As we change the strength of the interaction, we find that spectral weight is transferred between bands, and beyond a critical value, a hard gap emerges in the fermion density of states. A possible interpretation of this bulk interaction then is that it drives the dynamical formation of a (Mott) gap, in the absence of continuous symmetry breaking.

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arXiv2010

Dynamical Gap and Cuprate-like Physics from Holography

We study the properties of fermion correlators in a boundary theory dual to the Reissner-Nordström AdS_{d+1} background in the presence of a bulk dipole (Pauli) interaction term with strength p. We show that by simply changing the value of the parameter p we can tune continuously from a Fermi liquid (small p), to a marginal Fermi liquid behavior at a critical value of p, to a generic non-Fermi liquid at intermediate values of p, and finally to a Mott insulator at large values of the bulk Pauli coupling. As all of these phases are seen in the cuprate phase diagram, the holographic model we study has the key elements of the strong coupling physics typified by Mott systems. In addition, we extend our analysis to finite temperature and show that the Mott gap closes. Of particular interest is that it closes when the ratio of the gap to the critical temperature is of the order of ten. This behavior is very much similar to that observed in the classic Mott insulator VO_2. We then analyze the non-analyticities of the boundary theory fermion correlators for generic values of frequency and momentum by calculating the quasi-normal modes of the bulk fermions. Not surprisingly, we find no evidence for the dipole interaction inducing an instability in the boundary theory. Finally, we briefly consider the introduction of superconducting condensates, and find that in that case, the fermion gap is driven by scalar-fermion couplings rather than by the Pauli coupling.

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arXiv2010

Holography and the sound of criticality

Using gauge/gravity duality techniques, we discuss the sound-channel retarded correlators of vector and tensor conserved currents in a class of $(2+1)$-dimensional strongly-coupled field theories at zero temperature and finite charge density, assumed to be holographically dual to the extremal Reissner-Nordström AdS$_4$ black hole. Using a combination of analytical and numerical methods, we determine the quasinormal mode spectrum at finite momentum for the coupled gravitational and electromagnetic perturbations, and discuss the appropriate choice of gauge-invariant variables (master fields) in order for the black hole quasinormal frequencies to reproduce the field theory spectrum. We discuss the role of the near horizon AdS$_{2}$ geometry in determining the low-frequency behavior of retarded correlators in the boundary theory, and comment on the emergence of criticality in the IR. In addition, we establish the existence of a sound mode at zero temperature and compute the speed of sound and sound attenuation constant numerically, obtaining a result consistent with the expectations from the zero temperature limit of hydrodynamics. The dispersion relation of higher resonances is also investigated.

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arXiv2010

Shear Modes, Criticality and Extremal Black Holes

We consider a (2+1)-dimensional field theory, assumed to be holographically dual to the extremal Reissner-Nordstrom AdS(4) black hole background, and calculate the retarded correlators of charge (vector) current and energy-momentum (tensor) operators at finite momentum and frequency. We show that, similar to what was observed previously for the correlators of scalar and spinor operators, these correlators exhibit emergent scaling behavior at low frequency. We numerically compute the electromagnetic and gravitational quasinormal frequencies (in the shear channel) of the extremal Reissner-Nordstrom AdS(4) black hole corresponding to the spectrum of poles in the retarded correlators. The picture that emerges is quite simple: there is a branch cut along the negative imaginary frequency axis, and a series of isolated poles corresponding to damped excitations. All of these poles are always in the lower half complex frequency plane, indicating stability. We show that this analytic structure can be understood as the proper limit of finite temperature results as T is taken to zero holding the chemical potential fixed.

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arXiv2009

Transport Coefficients at Zero Temperature from Extremal Black Holes

Using the AdS/CFT correspondence we study transport coefficients of a strongly-coupled (2 +1)-dimensional field theory at {\it zero} temperature and finite charge density. The field theory under consideration is dual to the extremal Reissner-Nordstrom AdS_4 black hole in the bulk. We show that, like the cases of scalar and spinor operators studied in \cite{Faulkner:2009wj}, the correlators of charge (vector) current and energy-momentum (tensor) operators exhibit scaling behavior at low frequency. The existence of such low frequency behavior is related to the fact that the near-horizon geometry of the extremal black hole background has an AdS_2 factor. We carefully calculate the shear viscosity (at zero temperature) and show that the ratio of the shear viscosity to the entropy density takes the value of 1/4π. Because of the AdS_2 factor, we argue that this result stays the same for all d-dimensional boundary field theories dual to the extremal Reissner-Nordstrom AdS_{d+1} black holes. Also, we compute the charge conductivity at zero temperature. The limiting behavior of the conductivity for small frequencies is also attributed to the near horizon AdS_2 factor and is argued to hold regardless of the dimension of the zero-temperature boundary field theory. Finally, using the extremal dyonic AdS_4 black hole as the background, we extract the conductivity in the presence of a constant magnetic field.

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arXiv2009

Chiral Condensates in Finite Density Holographic NJL Model from String Worldsheets

We calculate the one-point function of certain chiral operators, known as open Wilson lines, in the holographic Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model at finite temperature as well as finite chemical potential for quark (baryon) number density. These operators are holographically dual to Euclidean string worldsheets bounded by the flavor branes. Their one-point functions can serve as order parameters for chiral symmetry breaking in these models. Analyzing the behavior of the dual string worldsheets with respect to temperature and chemical potential (or quark density) enables us to determine how the order parameter depends on these parameters.

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arXiv2009

Transversely-intersecting D-branes at finite temperature and chiral phase transition

We consider Sakai-Sugimoto like models consisting of Dq-Dp-anti-Dp-branes where flavor Dp and anti-Dp-branes transversely intersect color Dq-branes along two (r+1)-dimensional subspaces. For some values of p and q, the theory of intersections dynamically breaks non-Abelian chiral symmetry which is holographically realized as a smooth connection of the flavor branes at some point in the bulk of the geometry created by Dq-branes. We analyze the system at finite temperature and map out different phases of the theory representing chiral symmetry breaking and restoration. For q<5 we find that, unlike the zero-temperature case, there exist two branches of smoothly-connected solutions for the flavor branes, one getting very close to the horizon of the background and the other staying farther away from it. At low temperatures, the solution which stays farther away from the horizon determines the vacuum. For background D5 and D6-branes we find that the flavor branes, like the zero temperature case, show subtle behavior whose dual gauge theory interpretation is not clear. We conclude with some comments on how chiral phase transition in these models can be seen from their open string tachyon dynamics.

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arXiv2008

Open Wilson Lines and Chiral Condensates in Thermal Holographic QCD

We investigate various aspects of a proposal by Aharony and Kutasov arXiv:0803.3547 [hep-th] for the gravity dual of an open Wilson line in the Sakai-Sugimoto model or its non-compact version. In particular, we use their proposal to determine the effect of finite temperature, as well as background electric and magnetic fields, on the chiral symmetry breaking order parameter. We also generalize their prescription to more complicated worldsheets and identify the operators dual to such worldsheets.

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arXiv2008

Lightlike Wilson loops from AdS/CFT

We investigate the lightlike limit of stationary spacelike string configurations on a large class of five-dimensional asymptotically AdS backgrounds. Specific examples include gravity duals which incorporate finite 't Hooft coupling, curvature-squared corrections, and chemical potentials. A universal feature of these AdS/CFT models is that the string solution with minimum action yields a lightlike Wilson loop whose leading behavior is exponentially linear, rather than quadratic, in the width of the loop. Unless there is a compelling reason for discarding the leading saddlepoint contribution to the Wilson loop, following the proposal of Liu et. al. [2] leads to zero jet-quenching parameter for all of these models.

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arXiv2007

Heterotic Vortex Strings

We determine the low-energy N=(0,2) worldsheet dynamics of vortex strings in a large class of non-Abelian N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories.

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arXiv2007

No-Drag String Configurations for Steadily Moving Quark-Antiquark Pairs in a Thermal Bath

We investigate the behavior of stationary string configurations on a five-dimensional AdS black hole background which correspond to quark-antiquark pairs steadily moving in an N=4 super Yang-Mills thermal bath. There are many branches of solutions, depending on the quark velocity and separation as well as on whether Euclidean or Lorentzian configurations are examined.

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arXiv2007

Spacelike strings and jet quenching from a Wilson loop

We investigate stationary string solutions with spacelike worldsheet in a five-dimensional AdS black hole background, and find that there are many branches of such solutions. Using a non-perturbative definition of the jet quenching parameter proposed by Liu et. al., hep-ph/0605178, we take the lightlike limit of these solutions to evaluate the jet quenching parameter in an N=4 super Yang-Mills thermal bath. We show that this proposed definition gives zero jet quenching parameter, independent of how the lightlike limit is taken. In particular, the minimum-action solution giving the dominant contribution to the Wilson loop has a leading behavior that is linear, rather than quadratic, in the quark separation.

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