A Simple Holographic Superconductor with Momentum Relaxation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a holographic superconductor model with momentum relaxation, revealing a new pairing mechanism influenced by impurity-like effects and analyzing how parameters affect phase transitions and conductivities.

Contribution

It presents a novel holographic superconductor model incorporating momentum relaxation via scalar fields, showing new superconducting phases and distinctive conductivity behaviors.

Findings

Existence of a new superconductor induced by momentum relaxation parameter $eta$ at zero chemical potential

Critical temperature varies non-monotonically with the ratio $eta/

Transition from Drude to non-Drude conductivity peaks indicating coherent/incoherent metal phases

Abstract

We study a holographic superconductor model with momentum relaxation due to massless scalar fields linear to spatial coordinates($\psi_I = \beta \delta_{Ii} x^i$), where $\beta$ is the strength of momentum relaxation. In addition to the original superconductor induced by the chemical potential($\mu$) at $\beta=0$, there exists a new type of superconductor induced by $\beta$ even at $\mu=0$. It may imply a new `pairing' mechanism of particles and antiparticles interacting with $\beta$, which may be interpreted as `impurity'. Two parameters $\mu$ and $\beta$ compete in forming a superconducting phase. As a result, the critical temperature behaves differently depending on $\beta/\mu$. It decreases when $\beta/\mu$ is small and increases when $\beta/\mu$ is large, which is a novel feature compared to other models. After analysing ground states and phase diagrams for various $\beta/\mu$, we study optical electric($\sigma$), thermoelectric($\alpha$), and thermal($\bar{\kappa}$) conductivities. When the system undergoes a phase transition from a normal to a superconducting phase, $1/\omega$ pole appears in the imaginary part of the electric conductivity, implying infinite DC conductivity. If $\beta/\mu <1$, at small $\omega$, a two-fluid model with an imaginary $1/\omega$ pole and the Drude peak works for $\sigma$, $\alpha$, and $\bar{\kappa}$, but if $\beta/\mu >1$ a non-Drude peak replaces the Drude peak. It is consistent with the coherent/incoherent metal transition in its metal phase. The Ferrell-Glover-Tinkham (FGT) sum rule is satisfied for all cases even when $\mu=0$.