Intertwined Orders in Holography: Pair and Charge Density Waves

Abstract

Building on [1], we examine a holographic model in which a U(1) symmetry and translational invariance are broken spontaneously at the same time. The symmetry breaking is realized through the Stückelberg mechanism, and leads to a scalar condensate and a charge density which are spatially modulated and exhibit unidirectional stripe order. Depending on the choice of parameters, the oscillations of the scalar condensate can average out to zero, with a frequency which is half of that of the charge density. In this case the system realizes some of the key features of pair density wave order. The model also admits a phase with co-existing superconducting and charge density wave orders, in which the scalar condensate has a uniform component. In our construction the various orders are intertwined with each other and have a common origin. The fully backreacted geometry is computed numerically, including for the case in which the theory contains axions. The latter can be added to explicitly break translational symmetry and mimic lattice-type effects.