A pioneering treatise presenting how the mathematical techniques of holographic duality can unify the fundamental theories of physics.

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 comprehensive overview of holographic methods in quantum matter, written by pioneers in the field. This book, written by pioneers in the field, offers a comprehensive overview of holographic methods in quantum matter. It covers influential developments in theoretical physics, making the key concepts accessible to researchers and students in both high energy and condensed matter physics. The book provides a unique combination of theoretical and historical context, technical results, extensive references to the literature, and exercises. It will give readers the ability to understand the important problems in the field, both those that have been solved and those that remain unsolved, and will enable them to engage directly with the current literature. The book describes a particular interface between condensed matter physics, gravitational physics, and string and quantum field theory made possible by holographic duality. The chapters cover such topics as the essential workings of the holographic correspondence; strongly interacting quantum matter at a fixed commensurate density; compressible quantum matter with a variable density; transport in quantum matter; the holographic description of symmetry broken phases; and the relevance of the topics covered to experimental challenges in specific quantum materials. Holographic Quantum Matter promises to be the definitive presentation of this material.

The discovery of a duality between Anti-de Sitter spaces (AdS) and Conformal Field Theories (CFT) has led to major advances in our understanding of quantum field theory and quantum gravity. String theory methods and AdS/CFT correspondence maps provide new ways to think about difficult condensed matter problems. String theory methods based on the AdS/CFT correspondence allow us to transform problems so they have weak interactions and can be solved more easily. They can also help map problems to different descriptions, for instance mapping the description of a fluid using the Navier–Stokes equations to the description of an event horizon of a black hole using Einstein's equations. This textbook covers the applications of string theory methods and the mathematics of AdS/CFT to areas of condensed matter physics. Bridging the gap between string theory and condensed matter, this is a valuable textbook for students and researchers in both fields.

The first textbook on this important topic, for graduate students and researchers in particle and condensed matter physics.

This book describes applications of the AdS/CFT duality to the "real world." The AdS/CFT duality is an idea that originated from string theory and is a powerful tool for analyzing strongly-coupled gauge theories using classical gravitational theories. In recent years, it has been shown that one prediction of AdS/CFT is indeed close to the experimental result of the real quark–gluon plasma. Since then, the AdS/CFT duality has been applied to various fields of physics; examples are QCD, nuclear physics, condensed-matter physics, and nonequilibrium physics. The aim of this book is to provide background materials such as string theory, black holes, nuclear physics, condensed-matter physics, and nonequilibrium physics as well as key applications of the AdS/CFT duality in a single volume. The emphasis throughout the book is on a pedagogical and intuitive approach focusing on the underlying physical concepts. It also includes step-by-step computations for important results, which are useful for beginners. This book will be a valuable reference work for graduate students and researchers in particle physics, general relativity, nuclear physics, nonequilibrium physics, and condensed-matter physics.

Providing a pedagogical introduction to the rapidly developing field of AdS/CFT correspondence, this is one of the first texts to provide an accessible introduction to all the necessary concepts needed to engage with the methods, tools and applications of AdS/CFT. Without assuming anything beyond an introductory course in quantum field theory, it begins by guiding the reader through the basic concepts of field theory and gauge theory, general relativity, supersymmetry, supergravity, string theory and conformal field theory, before moving on to give a clear and rigorous account of AdS/CFT correspondence. The final section discusses the more specialised applications, including QCD, quark-gluon plasma and condensed matter. This book is self-contained and learner-focused, featuring numerous exercises and examples. It is essential reading for both students and researchers across the fields of particle, nuclear and condensed matter physics.