arXiv subjects

Nick Evans

Publications and source records attributed to Nick Evans.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

Chemical Potential in the Gravity Dual of a 2+1 Dimensional System

We study probe D5 branes in D3 brane AdS_5 and AdS_5-Schwarzschild backgrounds as a prototype dual description of strongly coupled 2+1 dimensional quasi-particles. We introduce a chemical potential through the U(1)_R symmetry group, U(1) baryon number and a U(1) of isospin in the multi-flavour case. We find the appropriate D5 embeddings in each case - the embeddings do not exhibit the spontaneous symmetry breaking that would be needed for a superconductor. The isospin chemical potential does induce the condensation of charged meson states.

hep-th↗

arXiv2008

The thermal phase transition in a QCD-like holographic model

We investigate the high temperature phase of a dilaton flow deformation of the AdS/CFT Correspondence. We argue that these geometries should be interpreted as the N=4 gauge theory perturbed by a SO(6) invariant scalar mass and that the high-temperature phase is just the well-known AdS-Schwarzschild solution. We compute, within supergravity, the resulting Hawking-Page phase transition which in this model can be interpreted as a deconfining transition in which the vev for the operator Tr F^2 dissolves. In the presence of quarks the model also displays a simultaneous chiral symmetry restoring transition with the Goldstone mode and other quark bound states dissolving into the thermal bath.

hep-th↗

arXiv2008

R-Charge Chemical Potential in a 2+1 Dimensional System

We study probe D5 branes in D3 brane AdS_5 and AdS_5-Schwarzschild backgrounds as a prototype dual description of strongly coupled 2+1 dimensional quasi-particles. We introduce a chemical potential for a weakly gauged U(1) subgroup of the theory's global R-symmetry by spinning the D5 branes. The resulting D5 embeddings are complicated by the existence of a region of the space in which the local speed of light falls below the rotation speed. We find regular embeddings through this region and show that the system does not exhibit the spontaneous symmetry breaking that would be needed for a superconductor.

hep-th↗

arXiv2008

Mesonic quasinormal modes of the Sakai-Sugimoto model at high temperature

We examine the mesonic thermal spectrum of the Sakai-Sugimoto model of holographic QCD by finding the quasinormal frequencies of the supergravity dual. If flavour is added using D8 and anti-D8 branes there exist embeddings where the D-brane worldvolume contains a black hole. For these embeddings (the high-temperature phase of the Sakai-Sugimoto model) we determine the quasinormal spectra of scalar and vector mesons arising from the worldvolume DBI action of the D-brane. We stress the importance of a coordinate change that makes the in-falling quasinormal modes regular at the horizon allowing a simple numerical shooting technique. Finally we examine the effect of finite spatial momentum on quasinormal spectra.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

Mesons in Gauge/Gravity Duals - A Review

We review recent progress in studying mesons within gauge/gravity duality, in the context of adding flavour degrees of freedom to generalizations of the AdS/CFT correspondence. Our main focus is on the `top-down approach' of considering models constructed within string theory. We explain the string-theoretical constructions in detail, aiming at non-specialists. These give rise to a new way of describing strongly coupled confining large N gauge gauge theories similar to large N QCD. In particular, we consider gravity dual descriptions of spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking, and compare with lattice results. A further topic covered is the behaviour of flavour bound states in finite temperature field theories dual to a gravity background involving a black hole. We also describe the `bottom up' phenomenological approach to mesons within AdS/QCD. -- Some previously unpublished results are also included.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

A holographic model of hadronization

We study hadronization of the final state in a particle-antiparticle annihilation using a holographic gravity dual description of QCD. At the point of hadronization we match the events to a simple (Gaussian) energy distribution in the five dimensional theory. The final state multiplicities are then modelled by calculating the overlap between the Gaussian and a set of functions in the fifth dimension which represent each hadron. We compare our results to those measured in e+e- collisions at LEP and PEP-PETRA. Hadron production numbers, which differ in range by four orders of magnitude, are reproduced to well within a factor of two.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Quark Mass in the Sakai-Sugimoto Model of Chiral Symmetry Breaking

We re-analyze D8 brane embeddings in the geometry of a D4 brane wrapped on a circle that describe chiral symmetry breaking in a strongly coupled non-supersymmetric gauge theory. We argue that if the holographic fields are correctly interpreted, the original embeddings describe a complex quark mass and condensate in the theory. We show that in this interpretation when a quark mass is present there is a massive pseudo Goldstone boson (pion). A previously identified massless fluctuation is, we argue, not a physical state in the field theory. We also determine the behaviour of the quark condensate as a function of the quark mass.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

Heavy-Light Mesons from the AdS/CFT Correspondence

We propose a holographic description of heavy-light mesons, i.e. of mesons containing a light and a heavy quark. In the semi-classical string limit, we look at the dynamics of strings tied between two D7 branes. We consider this setup both in an AdS background and in the non-supersymmetric Constable-Myers geometry which induces chiral symmetry breaking. We compute the meson masses in each case. Finally we discuss the relevance of this result for phenomenological comparison to the physical b-quark sector.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

Holographic QCD & Perfection

A holographic description of chiral symmetry breaking in the pattern of QCD is reviewed. D7 brane probes are used to include quark fields in a simple non-supersymmetric deformation of the AdS/CFT Correspondence. The axial symmetry breaking is realized geometrically and the quark condensate and meson masses are computable. Surprisingly, treating the model as a description of QCD works quantitatively at the 15% level. Models of this AdS/QCD type typically have a strongly coupled, conformal UV regime that is far from QCD. To systematically move closer to QCD, we propose cutting out the large radius gravitational description and matching operators and couplings at a finite UV cut off in the spirit of a perfect lattice action. A simple example is discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Improving the Infra-red of Holographic Descriptions of QCD

A surprisingly good holographic description of QCD can be obtained from naive five dimensional gauge theory on a truncated AdS space. We seek to improve the infra-red description of QCD in such models by using a more sophisticated metric and an action derived from string theory duals of chiral symmetry breaking. Our metric is smooth into the infra-red and the chiral condensate is a prediction of the dynamics. The theory reproduces QCD meson data at the 10% level.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Perfecting the Ultra-violet of Holographic Descriptions of QCD

We investigate imposing a UV cutoff into a simple AdS/QCD model of the rho mesons. The cutoff corresponds to the scale at which QCD moves from perturbative to non-perturbative behaviour, above which the gravity dual will itself become strongly coupled. Simply imposing a cutoff significantly improves the fit to the masses of the tower of excited rho mesons. Formally one should match the couplings of higher dimension operators and the anomalous dimensions of fields to the QCD values at the cutoff. We explore examples of these matchings including looking at the anomalous dimensions of the qbar gamma^mu q operators and including a G Tr F^4 coupling.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Gauge Invariant Regularization in the AdS/CFT Correspondence and Ghost D-branes

A field theoretic understanding of how the radial direction in the AdS/CFT Correspondence plays the role of a gauge invariant measure of energy scale has long been missing. In SU(N) Yang-Mills, a realization of a gauge invariant cutoff has been achieved by embedding the theory in spontaneously broken SU(N|N) gauge theory. With the recent discovery of ghost D-branes an AdS/CFT Correspondence version of this scheme is now possible. We show that a very simple construction precisely ties the two pictures together providing a concrete understanding of the radial RG flow on the field theory side.

hep-th↗

arXiv2006

Instantons on D7 brane probes and AdS/CFT with flavour

Recent work on adding flavour to the generalized AdS/CFT correspondence is reviewed. In particular, we consider instanton configurations on two coincident D7 brane probes. These are matched to the Higgs branch of the dual field theory. In AdS_5 x S^5, the instanton generates a flow of the meson spectrum. For non-supersymmetric gravity backgrounds, the Higgs branch is lifted by a potential, which has non-trivial physical implications. In particular these configurations provide a gravity dual description of Bose-Einstein condensation and of a thermal phase transition.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

Scalar effective potential for D7 brane probes which break chiral symmetry

We consider D7 brane probes embedded in deformed AdS5 x S5 supergravity backgrounds which are non-supersymmetric in the interior. In the context of the generalised AdS/CFT correspondence, these setups are dual to QCD-like theories with fundamental matter which display chiral symmetry breaking by a quark condensate. Evaluating the D7 action for a surface instanton configuration gives rise to an effective potential for the scalar Higgs vev in the dual field theory. We calculate this potential for two specific supergravity backgrounds. For a metric due to Constable and Myers, we find that the potential is asymptotically bounded by a 1/Q^4 behaviour and has a minimum at zero vev. For the Yang-Mills* background we find that the Higgs potential scales quadratically with the Higgs vev. This corresponds to a canonical mass term and the embedding is again stable.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

Towards a Perfect QCD Gravity Dual

Many examples of gravitational duals exist of theories that are highly supersymmetric and conformal in the UV yet have the same massless states as {\cal N}=2,1,0 QCD. We discuss such theories with an explicit UV cutoff and propose that, by tuning higher dimension operators at the cutoff by hand, the effects of the extra matter states in the UV may be removed from the IR physics. We explicitly work in the AdS-Schwartzschild description of QCD_4 and tune the operator TrF^4 by relaxing the near horizon limit to reproduce the lattice 0^{++} glueball mass results. We find that to reproduce the lattice data, the IR and UV cutoffs lie close to each other and there is essentially no AdS-like period between them. The improved geometry gives a better match to the lattice data for 0^{-+} glueball masses.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

Strong coupling effective Higgs potential and a first order thermal phase transition from AdS/CFT duality

We use AdS/CFT duality to study the thermodynamics of a strongly coupled N=2 supersymmetric large Nc SU(Nc) gauge theory with Nf =2 fundamental hypermultiplets. At finite temperature T and isospin chemical potential mu, a potential on the Higgs branch is generated, corresponding to a potential on the moduli space of instantons in the AdS description. For mu =0, there is a known first order phase transition around a critical temperature Tc. We find that the Higgs VEV is a suitable order parameter for this transition; for T>Tc, the theory is driven to a non-trivial point on the Higgs branch. For non-zero mu and T=0, the Higgs potential is unbounded from below, leading to an instability of the field theory due to Bose-Einstein condensation.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

D7 Brane Embeddings and Chiral Symmetry Breaking

We study the embedding of D7 brane probes in five geometries that are deformations of AdS_5 x S^5. Each case corresponds to the inclusion of quark fields in a dual gauge theory where we are interested in investigating whether chiral symmetry breaking occurs. We use a supersymmetric geometry describing an N=2 theory on its moduli space and a dilaton driven non-supersymmetric flow to establish criteria for a chiral symmetry breaking embedding. We develop a simple spherical D7 embedding that tests the repulsion of the core of the geometry and signals dynamical symmetry breaking. We then use this tool in more complicated geometries to show that an N=2* theory and a non-supersymmetric theory with scalar masses do not induce a chiral condensate. Finally we provide evidence that the Yang Mills* geometry does.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

Higgsless W Unitarity from Decoupling Deconstruction

Recently there has been interest in electroweak models on a five dimensional interval that break the symmetry without a higgs boson. By warping the metric of the interval it may be possible to avoid experimental bounds on extra W bosons and delta rho. Five dimensional models necessarily require an explicit UV cut-off to remain perturbative, such as that provided by deconstruction. We study a simple deconstruction of this scenario with a chain of SU(2)^N+1 x U(1)_Y groups linked by bi-fundamental higgs. There are two interesting decoupling limits of this model, when the higgs vevs are taken large and when the SU(2) couplings grow, which might provide a perturbative realization. In fact it is very challenging to satisfy all the experimental bounds and the most compatible scenario has both a higgs and a relatively strongly coupled new W both close to 2 TeV

hep-ph↗