Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: We describe general features of frequency-dependent charge transport near strongly interacting quantum critical points in $2+1$ dimensions. The simplest description using the AdS/CFT correspondence leads to a self-dual Einstein-Maxwell theory on ${\mathrm{AdS}}_{4}$, which fixes the conductivity at a frequency-independent self-dual value. We describe the general structure of higher-derivative corrections to the Einstein-Maxwell theory, and compute their implications for the frequency dependence of the quantum critical conductivity. We show that physical consistency conditions on the higher-derivative terms allow only a limited frequency dependence in the conductivity. The frequency dependence is amenable to a physical interpretation using transport of either particlelike or vortexlike excitations.
Authors: Robert C. Myers, Subir Sachdev, Ajay Singh
Institutions: Perimeter Institute, Harvard University, University of Waterloo
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: National Science Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W2129197096