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We investigate the fermionic perturbations of the asymptotically AdS background known as holographic neutron star, which represents a highly degenerate state of strongly coupled fermions on a sphere at finite temperature. We calculate the two-point correlator of a fermionic operator and obtain its scaling properties as we approach the critical region of the phase diagram., Comment: 7 pages in the main text, 10 more pages of appendices containing the more detailed calculations, 5 figures

Using the AdS/CFT correspondence we model the behaviour of the two point correlator of an operator with arbitrary scale dimension $\Delta$ in arbitrary spacetime dimension $d$ for small but non-zero temperature. The obtained propagator coincides in the low temperature regime with the known result for $d=4$ for large $\Delta$ at the order $T^d$ as well as with the $T^d$ and $T^{2d}$ terms of the exact all order result for $d=2$. Furthermore, for arbitrary $d$ we explicitly write down the expression for the order $T^{d}$ of the propagator for arbitrary $\Delta$, and present a conjecture for the order $T^{2d}$ in the large $\Delta$ limit., Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures, one important reference added, more comparison with known results, few typos corrected

We develop a method to detect instabilities leading to nematic phases in strongly coupled metallic systems. We do so by adapting the well-known Pomeranchuk technique to a weakly coupled system of fermions in a curved asymptotically AdS bulk. The resulting unstable modes are interpreted as corresponding to instabilities on the dual strongly coupled holographic metal. We apply our technique to a relativistic $3+1$-dimensional bulk with generic quartic fermionic couplings, and explore the phase diagram at zero temperature for finite values of the fermion mass and chemical potential, varying the couplings. We find a wide region of parameters where the system is stable, which is simply connected and localized around the origin of coupling space., Comment: Replaced by final version, published in JHEP

We investigate the high temperature fate of four dimensional gauge-Yukawa theories featuring short distance conformality of either interacting or non-interacting nature. The latter is known as complete asymptotic freedom and, as templates, we consider non-abelian gauge theories featuring either two singlet scalars coupled to gauged fermions via Yukawa interactions or two gauged scalars with(out) fermions. For theories with interacting fixed points at short distance, known as asymptotically safe, we consider two calculable examples. Exploring the landscape of safe and free theories above we discover a class of complete asymptotically free theories for which symmetry breaks at arbitrary high temperatures. In its minimal form this class is constituted by a theory with two fundamental gauged scalars each gauged under an independent group., Comment: 35 pages, section 2.2.5 and appendix C.5 added with new example of symmetry non-restoration: two SU(Nc) groups, each with a scalar adjoint

We introduce a holographic model encapsulating the dynamics of safe quantum field theories., Comment: 6 pages

In a recent paper, Kiritsis and Li presented a holographic model to study the competition between different orders at finite doping in holographic superconductors. In the present work, we introduce fermions into such model and study the fermionic spectral functions in the normal phase at zero and finite temperatures. Combining analytic and numerical methods, we found that there is a crossover from a strange metal with short lived excitations at small doping, into a Fermi liquid with well defined quasiparticles at large doping. The critical doping at which excitations becomes long lived increases with temperature. The emerging phase diagram is qualitatively similar to that of High Temperature Superconductors., Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures. Replaced by revised version, published in JHEP. References corrected

We find solutions of a gravity-Yang-Mills-Higgs theory in four dimensions that represent asymptotic anti-de Sitter charged black holes with partial/full gauge symmetry breaking. We then apply the AdS/CFT correspondence to study the strong coupling regime of a $2+1$ quantum field theory at temperature $T$ and finite chemical potential, which undergoes transitions to phases exhibiting the condensation of a composite charged vector operator below a critical temperature $T_c$, presumably describing $p+ip/p$-wave superconductors. In the case of $p+ip$-wave superconductors the transitions are always of second order. But for $p$-wave superconductors we determine the existence of a critical value $\alpha_c$ of the gravitational coupling (for fixed Higgs v.e.v. parameter $\hat m_W$) beyond which the transitions become of first order. As a by-product, we show that the $p$-wave phase is energetically favored over the $p+ip$ one, for any values of the parameters. We also find the ground state solutions corresponding to zero temperature. Such states are described by domain wall geometries that interpolate between $AdS_4$ spaces with different light velocities, and for a given $\hat m_{W}$, they exist below a critical value of the coupling. The behavior of the order parameter as function of the gravitational coupling near the critical coupling suggests the presence of second order quantum phase transitions. We finally study the dependence of the solution on the Higgs coupling, and find the existence of a critical value beyond which no condensed solution is present., Comment: 29 pages, 43 figures

We study the transition of a scalar field in a fixed $AdS_{d+1}$ background between an extremum and a minimum of a potential. We first prove that two conditions must be met for the solution to exist. First, the potential involved cannot be generic, i.e. a fine-tuning of their parameters is mandatory. Second, at least in some region its second derivative must have a negative upper limit which depends only on the dimensionality $d$. We then calculate the boundary propagator for small momenta in two different ways: first in a WKB approximation, and second with the usual matching method, generalizing the known calculation to arbitrary order. Finally, we study a system with spontaneously broken non-Abelian global symmetry, and show in the holographic language why the Goldstone modes appear., Comment: 26 pages - Invited contribution for the Central European Journal of Physics, topical issue devoted to "Cosmology and Particle Physics beyond Standard Models". Some parts overlap with 1304.3051v1, which has been replaced by the published version

We study the transition of a scalar field in a fixed $AdS_{d+1}$ background between an extremum and a minimum of a potential. We compute analytically the solution to the perturbation equation for the vev deformation case by generalizing the usual matching method to higher orders and find the propagator of the boundary theory operator defined through the AdS-CFT correspondence. We show that, contrary to what happens at the leading order of the matching method, the next-to-leading order presents a simple pole at $q^2=0$ in accordance with the Goldstone theorem applied to a spontaneously broken dilatation invariance., Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure, published version

We present an exactly solvable model of a scalar field in an AdS$_{d+1}$ like background interpolating between a $Z_2$ preserving and a $Z_2$ breaking minima of the potential. We define its holographic dual through the AdS/CFT dictionary and argue that at zero temperature the $d-$dimensional strongly coupled system on the boundary of AdS$_{d+1}$ exhibits a phase with a spontaneously broken discrete symmetry. In the presence of a black hole in the bulk ($T\neq 0$) we find that, although the metastable phase is present, the discrete symmetry gets restored. We compute exactly the lowest order boundary correlation functions in the spontaneously broken phase at T=0, finding out a pole of the propagator for zero momenta that signals the presence of a massless mode., Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures, title changed

We present a self-gravitating dyon solution of the Einstein-Yang-Mills-Higgs equations of motion in asymptotically AdS space. The back reaction of gauge and Higgs fields on the space-time geometry leads to the metric of an asymptotically AdS black hole. Using the gauge/gravity correspondence we analyze relevant properties of the finite temperature quantum field theory defined on the boundary. In particular we identify an order operator, characterize a phase transition of the dual theory on the border and also compute the expectation value of the finite temperature Wilson loop., Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures. Revised version to appear in JHEP

We carry out a gauge invariant analysis of certain perturbations of $D-2$-branes solutions of low energy string theories. We get generically a system of second order coupled differential equations, and show that only in very particular cases it is possible to reduce it to just one differential equation. Later, we apply it to a multi-parameter, generically singular family of constant dilaton solutions of non-critical string theories in $D$ dimensions, a generalization of that recently found in arXiv:0709.0471[hep-th]. According to arguments coming from the holographic gauge theory-gravity correspondence, and at least in some region of the parameters space, we obtain glue-ball spectra of Yang-Mills theories in diverse dimensions, putting special emphasis in the scalar metric perturbations not considered previously in the literature in the non critical setup. We compare our numerical results to those studied previously and to lattice results, finding qualitative and in some cases, tuning properly the parameters, quantitative agreement. These results seem to show some kind of universality of the models, as well as an irrelevance of the singular character of the solutions. We also develop the analysis for the T-dual, non trivial dilaton family of solutions, showing perfect agreement between them., Comment: A new reference added.

We find various supersymmetric configurations of toroidal M2 brane solutions in $\AdS_4 \times S^7$ or, more generally, in $\AdS_4 \times S^7/Z_k$. In this class we identify solutions preserving 1/4 and 1/8 supersymmetries of the background. The supersymmetric M2 branes have angular momenta and winding on $S^7$, and null world-volumes. In certain cases they collapse to string-like configurations. These configurations can be viewed as a higher-dimensional (membrane) analog of BMN states. We compute the energy and angular momenta, showing that all supersymmetric configurations obey the BPS relation $E=J/R $,\ $J= \sum_{i=1}^4 |J_i|$ with $E, J\to \infty $. Finally, we also study another class of supersymmetric M2-branes, including uncompact rotating membranes of "diabolo" shape., Comment: 27 pages, 3 figures. Small corrections

We study systems of $D6$ and $\bar D 6$ branes with non zero world-volume magnetic fields in the weak coupling limit. We find two configurations for which the conditions for absence of tachyons in the spectra coincide exactly with those found in the low energy effective theory approach, for the systems to preserve 1/8 of the supersymmetries of the Type $IIA$ string theory vacuum. These conditions give rise to a four-parameter family of solutions in each case. We present further evidence of the stability of these systems by computing the lowest order interaction amplitude, verifying the no force condition as well as the supersymmetric character of the spectrum., Comment: Latex file, no figures, 11 pages, references added, to be published in Physics Letters B

We consider solutions of (super) gravities associated to non-critical (super) string theories in arbitrary space-time dimension D=p+3, that describe generically non extremal black p-branes charged under NSNS or RR gauge fields, embedded in some non critical vacuum. In the case of vacuum (uncharged) backgrounds, we solve completely the problem obtaining all the possible solutions, that consist of the (p+1)-dimensional Minkowski space times a linear dilaton times a S^1, and a three parameter family of solutions that include (p+1)-dimensional Minkowski space times the cigar, and its T-dual (p+1)-dimensional Minkowski space times the trumpet. For NSNS charged solutions, we also solve in closed form the problem, obtaining several families of solutions, that include in particular the fundamental non-critical string solution embedded in the cigar vacuum, recently found in hep-th/0604202, a solution that we interpret as a fundamental non-critical string embedded in the linear dilaton vacuum, and a two-parameter family of regular curvature solutions asymptotic to AdS_{1,2}\times S^1. In the case of RR charged Dp-branes solutions, an ansatz allows us to find a non conformal, constant curvature, asymptotically AdS_{1,p+1} space, T-dual to AdS_{1,p+2}, together with a two-parameter family of solutions that includes the non conformal, AdS black hole like solution associated with the earlier space. The solutions obtained by T-duality are Einstein spaces consisting of a two-parameter family of conformal, constant dilaton solutions, that include, in particular, the AdS black hole of hep-th/0403254. We speculate about the possible applications of some of them in the framework of the gauge-gravity correspondence., Comment: 34 pages, 10 figures, to be published by Nuclear Physics B

We obtain the (super) gravity solution in arbitrary space-time dimension less than ten, that gives a low energy description of a fundamental string embedded in a non critical vacuum, product of $d$-dimensional Minkowski space-time and a cigar-like geometry with scale $r_0$. This solution, one of the few known examples of objects doubly localized, both at the origin of the transverse space as well as at the tip of the cigar, is determined by its charge $Q$ under the Kalb-Ramond gauge field $B$, and presumably preserves, for even $d$, $2^\frac{d}{2}$ supercharges. Moreover, we show that the solution is reliable at least in a region far away from both origins, as it is the case with the well known branes of critical string theory., Comment: 10 pages, latex file, one figure, to be published in Physics Letters B

We study a system of coincident $D4$ and $\bar D 4$ branes with non zero world-volume magnetic fields in the weak coupling limit. We show that the conditions for absence of tachyons in the spectrum coincide exactly with those found in hep-th/0206041, in the low energy effective theory approach, for the system to preserve a $\frac 14$ of the supersymmetries of the Type IIA string theory vacuum. We present further evidence about the stability of the system by computing the lowest order interaction amplitude from both open and closed channels, thus verifying the no force condition as well as the supersymmetric character of the spectrum. A brief discussion of the low energy effective five dimensional world-volume theory is given., Comment: 37 pages, latex file, no figures, heavy changes in language all along the paper, references added; to appear in Nuclear Physics B

We obtain a $\frac 14$-supersymmetric 6-brane solution of IIA Supergravity by T-dualizing the supertube recently found. The resulting $C_{\it 1}$ electric charge is related to the original $D0$-brane charge. The uplifted solution to eleven dimensions results to be a purely geometrical configuration, which can be interpreted as a bound state of a Taub-NUT space and a pp-wave. Being the non trivial part of the metric pseudo-Riemannian, the resulting reduced holonomy group is non-compact and locally isomorphic to a semidirect product of an Abelian four dimensional group and SU(2)., Comment: 11 pages, latex, no figures

We analyze in the spirit of hep-th/0110039 the possible existence of supersymmetric $D p - \bar D p$ brane systems in flat ten dimensional Minkowski space. For $p=3,4$ we show that besides the solutions related by T-duality to the $D2 - \bar D 2$ systems found by Bak and Karch there exist other ansatz whose compatibility is shown from general arguments and that preserve also eight supercharges, in particular a $D4 - \bar D4$ system with D2-branes dissolved on it and Taub-NUT charge. We carry out the explicit construction in Weyl basis of the corresponding Killing spinors and conjecture the existence of new solutions for higher dimensional branes with some compact directions analogous to the supertube recently found., Comment: 12 pages, latex, no figures, to appear in Physics Letters B

We study field theories defined in regions of the spatial non-commutative (NC) plane with a boundary present delimiting them, concentrating in particular on the U(1) NC Chern-Simons theory on the upper half plane. We find that classical consistency and gauge invariance lead necessary to the introduction of $K_0$-space of square integrable functions null together with all their derivatives at the origin. Furthermore the requirement of closure of $K_0$ under the *-product leads to the introduction of a novel notion of the *-product itself in regions where a boundary is present, that in turn yields the complexification of the gauge group and to consider chiral waves in one sense or other. The canonical quantization of the theory is sketched identifying the physical states and the physical operators. These last ones include ordinary NC Wilson lines starting and ending on the boundary that yield correlation functions depending on points on the one-dimensional boundary. We finally extend the definition of the *-product to a strip and comment on possible relevance of these results to finite Quantum Hall systems., Comment: 15 pages, references added, to appear in International Journal of Modern Physics

We develop a systematic perturbative expansion and compute the one-loop two-points, three-points and four-points correlation functions in a non-commutative version of the U(N) Wess-Zumino-Witten model in different regimes of the $\theta$-parameter showing in the first case a kind of phase transition around the value $\theta_c = \frac{\sqrt{p^2 + 4 m^2}}{\Lambda^2 p}$, where $\Lambda$ is a ultraviolet cut-off in a Schwinger regularization scheme. As a by-product we obtain the functions of the renormalization group, showing they are essentially the same as in the commutative case but applied to the whole U(N) fields; in particular there exists a critical point where they are null, in agreement with a recent background field computation of the beta-function, and the anomalous dimension of the Lie algebra-valued field operator agrees with the current algebra prediction. The non-renormalization of the level $k$ is explicitly verified from the four-points correlator, where a left-right non-invariant counter-term is needed to render finite the theory, that it is however null on-shell. These results give support to the equivalence of this model with the commutative one., Comment: 21 pages, latex, no figures, shortened version to appear in Physics Letters B

We consider monopole and dyon classical solutions of the Yang-Mills-Higgs system coupled to gravity in asymptotically anti-de Sitter space. We discuss both singular and regular solutions to the second order equations of motion showing that singular Wu-Yang like dyons can be found, the resulting metric being of the Reissner-N\"ordstrom type (with cosmological constant). Concerning regular solutions, we analyze the conditions under which they can be constructed discussing, for vanishing coupling constant, the main distinctive features related to the anti-de Sitter asymptotic condition; in particular, we find in this case that the v.e.v. of the Higgs scalar, $|\vec H(\infty)|$, should be quantized in units of the natural mass scale $1/e r_0$ (related to the cosmological constant) according to $|\vec H(\infty)|^2 = m(m+1) (e r_0 )^{-2}$, with $m \in Z$., Comment: 14 pages, latex file, no figures

We present the explicit global realization of the isometries of anti-de Sitter like spaces of signature $(d_-,d_+)$, and their algebras in the space of functions on the pseudo-Riemannian symmetric space $SO(d_- +1,d_+) / SO(d_-,d_+)$. The process of going to the invariant boundaries leads to the realization of the corresponding conformal groups and algebras. We compute systematically the geodesics in these spaces by considering the coset representation of them., Comment: 13 pages, latex file, La Plata preprint Th-99/04

We obtain local parametrizations of classical non-compact Lie groups where adjoint invariants under maximal compact subgroups are manifest. Extension to non compact subgroups is straightforward. As a by-product parametrizations of the same type are obtained for compact groups. They are of physical interest in any theory gauge invariant under the adjoint action, typical examples being the two dimensional gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten-Novikov models where these coordinatizations become of extreme usefulness to get the background fields representing the vacuum expectation values of the massless modes of the associated (super) string theory., Comment: 11 pages, latex file, La Plata preprint Th-99/01. Minor changes in the introduction, version to appear in Physics Letters B

A set of generalized superalgebras containing arbitrary tensor p-form operators is considered in dimensions $D=2n+1$ for $n=1,4 mod 4$ and the general conditions for its existence expressed in the form of generalized Jacobi identities is established. These are then solved in a univoque way and some lowest dimensional cases $ D= 3, 9, 11 $ of possible interest are made explicit., Comment: 13 pages, LaTex file

We compute the exact effective string vacuum backgrounds of the level $k = 81/19 SU(2,1)/U(1)$ coset model. A compact SU(2) isometry present in this seven dimensional solution allows to interpreting it after compactification as a four dimensional non-abelian SU(2) charged instanton with a singular submanifold and an $SO(3) \times U(1)$ isometry. The semiclassical backgrounds, solutions of the type II strings, present similar characteristics., Comment: 12 pages, latex file

We compute the exact string vacuum backgrounds corresponding to the non-compact coset theory $SU(2,1)/SU(2)$. The conformal field theory defined by the level $k= 4$ results in a five dimensional singular solution that factorizes in an asymptotic region as the linear dilaton solution and a $S^3$ model. It presents two abelian compact isometries that allow to reinterpreting it from a four dimensional point of view as a stationary and magnetically charged space-time resembling in some aspects the Kerr-Newman solution of general relativity. The $k=\frac{13}{7}$ theory on the other hand describes a cosmological solution that interpolates between a singular phase at short times and a $S^1 \times S^2$ universe after some planckian times., Comment: 18 pages, section 5 replaced by 5 and 6, references added; to appear in Phys. Rev. D

Some remarks are made about free anomaly groups in gauged WZW models. Considering a quite general action, anomaly cancellation is analyzed. The possibility of gauging left and right sectors independently in some cases is remarked. In particular Toda theories can be seen as such a kind of models., Comment: 7 pages