Strongly Coupled PT-Symmetric Models in Holography
Abstract
Non-Hermitian quantum field theories are a promising tool to study open quantum systems. These theories preserve unitarity if PT-symmetry is respected, and in that case an equivalent Hermitian description exists via the so-called Dyson map. Generically, PT-symmetric non-Hermitian theories can also feature phases where PT-symmetry is broken and unitarity is lost. We review the construction of holographic duals to strongly coupled PT-symmetric quantum field theories and the study of their phase diagram. We next focus on spacetime-dependent non-Hermitian couplings: non-Hermitian quenches and lattices. They violate the null energy condition in the gravity dual. The lattices realize phases supporting an imaginary current that breaks PT-symmetry spontaneously. Remarkably, these non-Hermitian lattices flow to a PT-symmetric fixed point in the IR.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2411.18471,
title = {Strongly Coupled PT-Symmetric Models in Holography},
author = {Daniel Arean and David Garcia-Fariña and Karl Landsteiner},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2411.18471},
year = {2024}
}
Comments
v1: Review contribution summitted to 'Entropy Special Issue': Quantum Dynamics with Non-hermitian Hamiltonians II. 20 pages, 12 figures