A pioneering treatise presenting how the new mathematical techniques of holographic duality unify seemingly unrelated fields of physics. This innovative development morphs quantum field theory, general relativity and the renormalisation group into a single computational framework and this book is the first to bring together a wide range of research in this rapidly developing field. Set within the context of condensed matter physics and using boxes highlighting the specific techniques required, it examines the holographic description of thermal properties of matter, Fermi liquids and superconductors, and hitherto unknown forms of macroscopically entangled quantum matter in terms of general relativity, stars and black holes. Showing that holographic duality can succeed where classic mathematical approaches fail, this text provides a thorough overview of this major breakthrough at the heart of modern physics. The inclusion of extensive introductory material using non-technical language and online Mathematica notebooks ensures the appeal to students and researchers alike.
A pioneering treatise presenting how the new mathematical techniques of holographic duality unify seemingly unrelated fields of physics. This innovative development morphs quantum field theory, general relativity and the renormalisation group into a single computational framework and this book is the first to bring together a wide range of research in this rapidly developing field. Set within the context of condensed matter physics and using boxes highlighting the specific techniques required, it examines the holographic description of thermal properties of matter, Fermi liquids and superconductors, and hitherto unknown forms of macroscopically entangled quantum matter in terms of general relativity, stars and black holes. Showing that holographic duality can succeed where classic mathematical approaches fail, this text provides a thorough overview of this major breakthrough at the heart of modern physics. The inclusion of extensive introductory material using non-technical language and online Mathematica notebooks ensures the appeal to students and researchers alike.
A tour guide of holographic matter A quake is rumbling through the core of physics. Suddenly apparently unrelated areas appear to have a common ground, showing an eerie capacity to fertilise each other. In physics such occasions are invariably propelled by novel mathematical machinery and the present case is no exception. This new mathematical contraption is “holographic duality” (or “anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory correspondence”), which was originally discovered in string theory in the 1990s. Until recently its use was limited to the historic scope of string theory – particle physics and quantum gravity. At a breathtaking pace it has since rolled out over many of the subject areas of modern fundamental physics, even yielding new insights into old subjects such as the nineteenth-century theory of hydrodynamics. Several books of this kind could be written, and are being written, highlighting how anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory (AdS/CFT) impacts on various fields in physics. This book will focus on a prominent area where the developments have been particularly stunning. This is the application to equilibrium condensed matter physics. This started in 2007, and in a matter of a few years condensed matter theory was rewritten in a different mathematical language. This language is the one that one would perhaps least expect: general relativity. On its own a rewriting of condensed matter might not sound like a great advance, no matter how unconventional the language. However, the correspondence makes it possible to explore regimes of quantum many-body physics that are completely inaccessible with conventional techniques. In particular we refer to non-Fermi-liquid states of matter formed in finite-density systems of strongly interacting fermion systems. The holographic mathematics here becomes particularly expressive, suggesting that a general principle of a new kind is at work. It appears that this principle relates to the physics of compressible quantum matter: the notion that the nature of this state of matter is governed by a macroscopic quantum entanglement involving allof its constituents. This discovery is not just remarkable on its own. “Holographic strange matter” also has tantalisingly suggestive resemblances to the mysterious phenomena observed experimentally in strongly interacting electron systems that have been realised in special materials such as the high-T c superconductors. First seen around thirty years ago, these have defied any reasonable explanation despite countless attempts resting on the available mathematical techniques.
This book is a course in modern quantum field theory as seen through the eyes of a theorist working in condensed matter physics. It contains a gentle introduction to the subject and therefore can be used even by graduate students. The introductory parts include a derivation of the path integral representation, Feynman diagrams and elements of the theory of metals including a discussion of Landau–Fermi liquid theory. In later chapters the discussion gradually turns to more advanced methods used in the theory of strongly correlated systems. The book contains a thorough exposition of such non-perturbative techniques as 1/N-expansion, bosonization (Abelian and non-Abelian), conformal field theory and theory of integrable systems. The book is intended for graduate students, postdoctoral associates and independent researchers working in condensed matter physics.
This book is a course in modern quantum field theory as seen through the eyes of a theorist working in condensed matter physics. It contains a gentle introduction to the subject and therefore can be used even by graduate students. The introductory parts include a derivation of the path integral representation, Feynman diagrams and elements of the theory of metals including a discussion of Landau–Fermi liquid theory. In later chapters the discussion gradually turns to more advanced methods used in the theory of strongly correlated systems. The book contains a thorough exposition of such non-perturbative techniques as 1/N-expansion, bosonization (Abelian and non-Abelian), conformal field theory and theory of integrable systems. The book is intended for graduate students, postdoctoral associates and independent researchers working in condensed matter physics.
Presenting the physics of the most challenging problems in condensed matter using the conceptual framework of quantum field theory, this book is of great interest to physicists in condensed matter and high energy and string theorists, as well as mathematicians. Revised and updated, this second edition features new chapters on the renormalization group, the Luttinger liquid, gauge theory, topological fluids, topological insulators and quantum entanglement. The book begins with the basic concepts and tools, developing them gradually to bring readers to the issues currently faced at the frontiers of research, such as topological phases of matter, quantum and classical critical phenomena, quantum Hall effects and superconductors. Other topics covered include one-dimensional strongly correlated systems, quantum ordered and disordered phases, topological structures in condensed matter and in field theory and fractional statistics.
A balanced combination of introductory and advanced topics provides a new and unique perspective on the quantum field theory approach to condensed matter physics. Beginning with the basics of these subjects, such as static and vibrating lattices, independent and interacting electrons, the functional formulation for fields and different generating functionals and their roles, this book presents a unified viewpoint illustrating the connections and relationships among various physical concepts and mechanisms. Advanced and newer topics bring the book up to date with current developments and include sections on cuprate and pnictide superconductors, graphene, Weyl semimetals, transition metal dichalcogenides and topological insulators. Finally, well-known subjects such as the quantum Hall effect, superconductivity, Mott and Anderson insulators, and the Anderson–Higgs mechanism are examined within a unifying QFT-CMP approach. Presenting new insights on traditional topics, this text allows graduate students and researchers to master the proper theoretical tools required in a variety of condensed matter physics systems.
Modern Condensed Matter Physics brings together the most important advances in the field of recent decades. It provides instructors teaching graduate-level condensed matter courses with a comprehensive and in-depth textbook that will prepare graduate students for research or further study as well as reading more advanced and specialized books and research literature in the field. This textbook covers the basics of crystalline solids as well as analogous optical lattices and photonic crystals, while discussing cutting-edge topics such as disordered systems, mesoscopic systems, many-body systems, quantum magnetism, Bose–Einstein condensates, quantum entanglement, and superconducting quantum bits. Students are provided with the appropriate mathematical background to understand the topological concepts that have been permeating the field, together with numerous physical examples ranging from the fractional quantum Hall effect to topological insulators, the toric code, and majorana fermions. Exercises, commentary boxes, and appendices afford guidance and feedback for beginners and experts alike.