2006/05/31 by David Mateos, Robert C. Myers, Rowan M. Thomson · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Black brane #Black hole (networking) #Brane #Condensed matter physics #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Critical phenomena #Deconfinement #Extremal black hole #Gauge theory #Holography #Horizon #Mass gap #Particle physics #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #Phase (matter) #Phase transition #Physics #Quantum electrodynamics #Quantum mechanics #Spectrum (functional analysis) #Theoretical physics #hep-ph #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.97.091601
published as Phys.Rev.Lett.97:091601,2006 · 6 pages, 7 figures, RevTeX4; v2: minor changes, reference added
arxiv created 2006/08/22 · openalex publication_date 2006/08/30 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
The holographic dual of a finite-temperature gauge theory with a small number of flavors typically contains D-brane probes in a black hole background. At low temperature, the branes sit outside the black hole and the meson spectrum is discrete and possesses a mass gap. As the temperature increases, the branes approach a critical solution. Eventually, they fall into the horizon and a phase transition occurs. In the new phase, the meson spectrum is continuous and gapless. At large Nc and large 't Hooft coupling, we show that this phase transition is always first order. In confining theories with heavy quarks, it occurs above the deconfinement transition for the glue.