Universal far-from-equilibrium Dynamics of a Holographic Superconductor

TL;DR

This paper uses holographic duality to analyze non-equilibrium dynamics of a superconducting transition, revealing universal scaling laws for defect formation in strongly coupled systems.

Contribution

It demonstrates how holographic duality can be applied to study real-time symmetry breaking and defect formation in strongly coupled superconductors, extending the Kibble-Zurek mechanism.

Findings

Winding numbers follow a universal fractional power law with quench time.

The delay in condensate formation can be predicted by the Kibble-Zurek mechanism.

The quasinormal mode spectrum determines the universality class.

Abstract

Symmetry breaking phase transitions are an example of non-equilibrium processes that require real time treatment, a major challenge in strongly coupled systems without long-lived quasiparticles. Holographic duality provides such an approach by mapping strongly coupled field theories in D dimensions into weakly coupled quantum gravity in D+1 anti-de Sitter spacetime. Here, we use holographic duality to study formation of topological defects -- winding numbers -- in the course of a superconducting transition in a strongly coupled theory in a 1D ring. When the system undergoes the transition on a given quench time, the condensate builds up with a delay that can be deduced using the Kibble-Zurek mechanism from the quench time and the universality class of the theory, as determined from the quasinormal mode spectrum of the dual model. Typical winding numbers deposited in the ring exhibit a universal fractional power law dependence on the quench time, also predicted by the Kibble-Zurek Mechanism.