Magnetic Field Effect on the Phase Transition in AdS Soliton Spacetime

TL;DR

This paper explores how magnetic fields influence the phase transition between insulator and superconductor phases in an AdS soliton spacetime, revealing that magnetic fields hinder the transition and affect condensate localization.

Contribution

It provides a combined numerical and analytical study of magnetic field effects on holographic phase transitions in AdS soliton backgrounds, including a simple relation among critical parameters.

Findings

Magnetic field localizes the condensate in a finite circular region.

Magnetic field makes the phase transition more difficult.

A simple relation among critical chemical potential, magnetic field, charge, and mass is found.

Abstract

We investigate the scalar perturbations in an AdS soliton background coupled to a Maxwell field via marginally stable modes. In the probe limit, we study the magnetic field effect on the holographic insulator/superconductor phase transition numerically and analytically. The condensate will be localized in a finite circular region for any finite constant magnetic field. Near the critical point, we find that there exists a simple relation among the critical chemical potential, magnetic field, the charge and mass of the scalar field. This relation indicates that the presence of the magnetic field causes the phase transition hard.