Holographic Superfluids and the Dynamics of Symmetry Breaking

M. J. Bhaseen, J. P. Gauntlett, B. D. Simons, J. Sonner, and T. Wiseman

Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 015301 – Published 2 January 2013

Abstract

We explore the far-from-equilibrium response of a holographic superfluid using the AdS/CFT correspondence. We establish the dynamical phase diagram corresponding to quantum quenches of the order parameter source field. We find three distinct regimes of behavior that are related to the spectrum of black hole quasinormal modes. These correspond to damped oscillations of the order parameter and to overdamped approaches to the superfluid and normal states. The presence of three regimes, which includes an emergent dynamical temperature scale, is argued to occur more generally in time-reversal-invariant systems that display continuous symmetry breaking.

Received 3 August 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.015301

Authors & Affiliations

M. J. Bhaseen¹, J. P. Gauntlett², B. D. Simons¹, J. Sonner³, and T. Wiseman²

¹Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 OHE, United Kingdom
²Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
³DAMTP, University of Cambridge, CB3 OWA Cambridge, United Kingdom