Conformal field theories in $d=4$ with a helical twist

TL;DR

This paper explores how a universal helical deformation affects 4D conformal field theories holographically, revealing finite thermal conductivity and Drude-like AC conductivity peaks at finite temperature.

Contribution

It introduces a class of holographic 4D CFTs with a helical deformation, constructs corresponding black hole solutions, and analytically computes thermal conductivities.

Findings

Finite, non-zero DC thermal conductivity along the helix axis.

AC thermal conductivity exhibits Drude-like peaks.

IR flow to the same CFT at zero temperature.

Abstract

Within the context of holography we study the general class of $d=4$ conformal field theories after applying a universal helical deformation. At finite temperature we construct the associated black hole solutions of Einstein gravity, numerically, by exploiting a Bianchi $VII_0$ ansatz for the bulk $D=5$ metric. At $T=0$ we show that they flow in the IR to exactly the same CFT. The deformation gives rise to a finite, non-zero DC thermal conductivity along the axis of the helix, which we determine analytically in terms of black hole horizon data. We also calculate the AC thermal conductivity along this axis and show that it exhibits Drude-like peaks.