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arXiv · 2510.07379

Localized states of BFSS super quantum mechanics

Oscar J. C. Dias·Jorge E. Santos
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Abstract

We analyze the recently discovered localized and non-uniform phases of the Banks-Fischler-Shenker-Susskind (BFSS) matrix quantum mechanics. Building on [1], we provide first-principles derivations of their properties and extend the results with new analytic and numerical insights. We show that strongly coupled BFSS dynamics emerge from a specific Carrollian transformation of 11-dimensional supergravity, which we justify in detail. In this framework, the uniform BFSS phase corresponds to a black string in a $pp$-wave background. We demonstrate that this background is unstable to a Gregory-Laflamme instability and, for the first time, compute the associated growth rate. The instability gives rise to non-uniform and localized phases that dominate the microcanonical ensemble in certain low-energy regimes, with the localized phase also prevailing in the canonical ensemble at low temperatures. We identify the corresponding first- and second-order phase transitions and derive analytic formulas for the thermodynamics of the localized phase, accurate to better than $0.3\%$ against numerical results.

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Oscar J. C. Dias, Jorge E. Santos. 2025-10-08. Localized states of BFSS super quantum mechanics. https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.07379

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