Holographic non-Fermi liquid fixed points

Abstract

Techniques arising from string theory can be used to study assemblies of strongly-interacting fermions. Via this `holographic duality', various strongly-coupled many body systems are solved using an auxiliary theory of gravity. Simple holographic realizations of finite density exhibit single-particle spectral functions with sharp Fermi surfaces, of a form distinct from those of the Landau theory. The self-energy is given by a correlation function in an infrared fixed point theory which is represented by an AdS_2 region in the dual gravitational description. Here we describe in detail the gravity calculation of this IR correlation function. This article is a contribution to a special issue of Phil. Trans. A on the normal state of the cuprates; as such, we also provide some review and context.