String Theory seminar - Blaise Gouteraux Seminar

Abstract: In this talk, I will explain how higher-form symmetries emerge in the infrared of certain phases of holographic matter, with an emphasis on Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton theories and probe brane theories. To put this into context, I will start by reviewing how superfluid hydrodynamics in d+1 dimensions can be recast as the conservation of a U(1) current which has a mixed 't Hooft anomaly with an emergent (d-1)-form symmetry, which corresponds to the conservation of the number of winding hyperplanes. This symmetry is explicitly broken by condensed vortices, leading to relaxation of the supercurrent. We will see how similar features apply to the low-energy, low-temperature description of the holographic phases. I'll conclude with some comments on the boundary nature of the degrees of freedom of charged horizons in the bulk and the relation to Luttinger theorem.