Pointlike probes of superstring-theoretic superfluids

TL;DR

This paper uses string theory techniques to analyze superfluid behavior in a gravity dual, revealing a critical velocity below which no drag occurs and characterizing forces above it.

Contribution

It introduces a novel string-theoretic approach to study superfluid dynamics, identifying critical velocity and force scaling in superstring-theoretic superfluids.

Findings

Existence of a critical velocity with no drag below it

Power-law scaling of drag force above critical velocity

Finite, velocity-dependent temperature for stochastic forces

Abstract

In analogy with an experimental setup used in liquid helium, we use a pointlike probe to study superfluids which have a gravity dual. In the gravity description, the probe is represented by a hanging string. We demonstrate that there is a critical velocity below which the probe particle feels neither drag nor stochastic forces. Above this critical velocity, there is power-law scaling for the drag force, and the stochastic forces are characterized by a finite, velocity-dependent temperature. This temperature participates in two simple and general relations between the drag force and stochastic forces. The formula we derive for the critical velocity indicates that the low-energy excitations are massless, and they demonstrate the power of stringy methods in describing strongly coupled superfluids.