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Multipoint correlators of conformal field theories: Implications for quantum critical transport

Cornell Affiliated Author(s)

Author

Debanjan Chowdhury
S. Raju
S. Sachdev
A. Singh
P. Strack

Abstract

We compute three-point correlators between the stress-energy tensor and the conserved currents of conformal field theories (CFTs) in 2+1 dimensions. We first compute the correlators in the large-flavor-number expansion of conformal gauge theories and then perform the computation using holography. In the holographic approach, the correlators are computed from an effective action on (3+1)-dimensional anti-de Sitter space (AdS4) and depend upon the coefficient γ of a four-derivative term in the action. We find a precise match between the CFT and the holographic results, thus, fixing the values of γ. The CFTs of free fermions and bosons take the values γ=1/12,-1/12, respectively, and so saturate the bound |γ|≤1/12 obtained earlier from the holographic theory; the correlator of the conserved gauge flux of U(1) gauge theories takes intermediate values of γ. The value of γ also controls the frequency dependence of the conductivity and other properties of quantum critical transport at nonzero temperatures. Our results for the values of γ lead to an appealing physical interpretation of particlelike or vortexlike transport near quantum phase transitions of interest in condensed-matter physics. This paper includes Appendices reviewing key features of the AdS-CFT correspondence for condensed-matter physicists. © 2013 American Physical Society.

Date Published

Journal

Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics

Volume

87

Issue

8

URL

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84874546691&doi=10.1103%2fPhysRevB.87.085138&partnerID=40&md5=e7c22878a91ba1373b025beeea4b4920

DOI

10.1103/PhysRevB.87.085138

Group (Lab)

Debanjan Chowdhury Group

Funding Source

1103860

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