Universal scaling properties of extremal cohesive holographic phases

Abstract

We show that strongly-coupled, translation-invariant holographic IR phases at finite density can be classified according to the scaling behaviour of the metric, the electric potential and the electric flux introducing four critical exponents, independently of the details of the setup. Solutions fall into two classes, depending on whether they break relativistic symmetry or not. The critical exponents determine key properties of these phases, like thermodynamic stability, the (ir)relevant deformations around them, the low-frequency scaling of the optical conductivity and the nature of the spectrum for electric perturbations. We also study the scaling behaviour of the electric flux through bulk minimal surfaces using the Hartnoll-Radicevic order parameter, and characterize the deviation from the Ryu-Takayanagi prescription in terms of the criti cal exponents. © 2014 The Author(s).