Instability of Baryonic Black Branes

Abstract

Baryonic black branes describe the quantum critical phase of the conformal conifold gauge theory at strong coupling. This phase extends to zero temperature at a finite baryonic chemical potential, represented by extremal black branes with $Ad{S}_2\times R^3\times T^{1,1}$ throat in asymptotic $Ad{S}_5\times T^{1,1}$ geometry. We demonstrate here that this phase is dynamically unstable below some critical value of $T_c/\mu$: the instability is represented by a diffusive mode in the hydrodynamic sound channel with a negative diffusion coefficient. We also identify a new (exotic) ordered phase of the conifold gauge theory: this phase originates at the same critical value of $T_c/\mu$, but extends to arbitrary high temperatures, and is characterized by an expectation value of a dimension-2 operator, ${\mathcal{O}}_2\propto T^2$, in the limit $\frac{\mu }{T}\to 0$.

arXiv comment28 pages, 7 figures; v2: comment on non-perturbative instability added, JHEP version