Informal Pizza Seminar

Holographic Superconductivity

Pallab Basu

UBC

I will start by reviewing recent works on holographic superconductors (arXiv:0803.3295 and previous papers by Gubser), where a holographic black hole solution is discussed which exhibits a superconductor like transition. In the superconducting phase the black holes show infinite DC conductivity. Then I will discuss our work on supercurrent/superfluid (arXiv:0809.4494). Superconducting black hole solutions can be deformed by turning on a time independent current (supercurrent/superfluid). This type of deformation does not exist for normal (non-superconducting) black holes, due to the no-hair theorems. We will discuss the associated phase diagram which contains a "special point" (critical point) where the second order superconducting phase transition becomes first order. Supercurrent (superfluid) is a well studied phenomenon in condensed matter systems. Although our setup is vastly different, I will discuss some qualitative agreement with known results. In the last part of the talk I will discuss the issue of string theory embedding of such models and relation with iso-spin superconductivity (arXiv:0810.3970).