Minding the Gap in Holographic Models of Interacting Fermions

Abstract

We study the holographic dual of fermions interacting in a Schwarzschild-AdS${}_{d+1}$ background via a dipole (Pauli) coupling sourced by a probe gauge field. We find quite generally that a gap forms in the dual operator spectrum as the Pauli coupling is strengthened. Previous investigations have observed this behavior in analogous constructions with Reissner-Nordström-AdS (RN-AdS${}_4$) backgrounds, but the emergence of log-oscillatory behavior in those models' spectra prevented identification of the underlying gapping mechanism. Our model obviates this issue through its modified geometry and traces the gapping mechanism back to the bulk dynamics. We show in general that there is a duality between zeros for large positive values of the coupling and poles in the spectrum for equivalent couplings but with opposite sign as seen recently in the RN-AdS${}_4$ background\cite{alsup}. The duality arises from the two possible quantizations for computing the retarded propagator. Coupled with the earlier string results\cite{gauntlett,gubser2} that Fermi surfaces are generally absent from the spectral function, our finding that the Pauli term engineers the gap suggests that the model examined here offers a way of studying non-perturbative physics in fermionic matter at finite density typified by Mott insulating systems.

7 pages, 6 figures

References in corpus (6)

• Cluster Dynamical Mean Field Theory of the Mott Transition
• Dynamically Generated Gap from Holography: Mottness from a Black Hole
• Dynamical Gap and Cuprate-like Physics from Holography
• Absence of Luttinger's Theorem due to Zeros in the Single-Particle Green Function
• Sum Rules from an Extra Dimension
• Dipole Coupling Effect of Holographic Fermion in the Background of Charged Gauss-Bonnet AdS Black Hole

Cited by in corpus (9)

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• Fermi surface behavior in the ABJM M2-brane theory
• Dynamically generated gap from holography in the charged black brane with hyperscaling violation
• Duality between zeroes and poles in holographic systems with massless fermions and a dipole coupling
• Anisotropic destruction of the Fermi surface in inhomogeneous holographic lattices
• Holographic fermionic spectrum from Born-Infeld AdS black hole
• Charged Lifshitz black hole and probed Lorentz-violation fermions from holography
• Photoemission "experiments" on holographic lattices
• Nodal-antinodal dichotomy from anisotropic quantum critical continua in holographic models