Thermoelectric DC conductivities with momentum dissipation from higher derivative gravity

TL;DR

This paper investigates how momentum relaxation affects thermoelectric conductivities in higher derivative gravity theories, revealing a transition from coherent to incoherent phases as impurity strength varies.

Contribution

It introduces a new mechanism for momentum relaxation in Gauss-Bonnet gravity with analytical DC conductivity calculations, highlighting phase behavior changes.

Findings

DC electric conductivity varies non-monotonically with impurity parameter

Incoherent phase dominates at large impurity levels

DC heat conductivity is unaffected by Gauss-Bonnet coupling

Abstract

We present a mechanism of momentum relaxation in higher derivative gravity by adding linear scalar fields to the Gauss-Bonnet theory. We analytically computed all of the DC thermoelectric conductivities in this theory by adopting the method given by Donos and Gauntlett in [arXiv:1406.4742]. The results show that the DC electric conductivity is not a monotonic function of the effective impurity parameter $\beta$: in the small $\beta$ limit, the DC conductivity is dominated by the coherent phase, while for larger $\beta$, pair creation contribution to the conductivity becomes dominant, signaling an incoherent phase. In addition, the DC heat conductivity is found independent of the Gauss-Bonnet coupling constant.