dc Resistivity of Quantum Critical, Charge Density Wave States from Gauge-Gravity Duality
Andrea Amoretti (Physique Théorique et Mathématique and International Solvay Institutes, Université Libre de Bruxelles, C.P. 231, 1050 Brussels, Belgium); Daniel Areán (Centro de Física do Porto, Departamento de Física da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal); Blaise Goutéraux (Nordita, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University, Roslagstullsbacken 23, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden); Daniele Musso (Departamento de Física de Partículas, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela and Instituto Galego de Física de Altas Enerxías (IGFAE), E-15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain)
In contrast to metals with weak disorder, the resistivity of weakly pinned charge density waves (CDWs) is not controlled by irrelevant processes relaxing momentum. Instead, the leading contribution is governed by incoherent, diffusive processes which do not drag momentum and can be evaluated in the clean limit. We compute analytically the dc resistivity for a family of holographic charge density wave quantum critical phases and discuss its temperature scaling. Depending on the critical exponents, the ground state can be conducting or insulating. We connect our results to dc electrical transport in underdoped cuprate high superconductors. We conclude by speculating on the possible relevance of unstable, semilocally critical CDW states to the strange metallic region.