Quantum criticality and mixed-state entanglement in holographic superconductor--insulator transitions

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Yang, Zhe, Cheng, Fang-Jing, Fu, Guoyang, Ling, Yi, Liu, Peng, Wu, Jian-Pin
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Yang, Zhe
Cheng, Fang-Jing
Fu, Guoyang
Ling, Yi
Liu, Peng
Wu, Jian-Pin
author_facet Yang, Zhe
Cheng, Fang-Jing
Fu, Guoyang
Ling, Yi
Liu, Peng
Wu, Jian-Pin
contents We study quantum criticality in a holographic Einstein--Maxwell--Dilaton--Axion (EMDA) p-wave superconductor exhibiting a superconductor--insulator transition (SIT). By tracking the superconducting energy gap, we show that approaching the quantum critical point (QCP) closes the gap and induces incipient insulating features, indicating that enhanced quantum fluctuations suppress superconducting order and trigger the SIT. We suggest that this behavior occurs only when the condensate orientation is aligned with the direction of translational symmetry breaking. To probe the transition, we employ two holographic indicators: holographic entanglement entropy (HEE) and the entanglement wedge cross-section (EWCS), the latter being a mixed-state entanglement measure. In contrast to HEE, which for sufficiently large configuration is dominated by the thermal entropy and is therefore largely insensitive to entanglement along the temperature direction, EWCS displays pronounced critical scaling and provides a robust diagnostic of the quantum phase transition (QPT). We attribute this contrast to the fact that HEE at large scales is controlled by the infrared (IR) geometry, whereas EWCS is governed by deformations of the entire bulk. Our results establish EWCS as a robust probe of holographic quantum criticality in mixed states.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_14446
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Quantum criticality and mixed-state entanglement in holographic superconductor--insulator transitions
Yang, Zhe
Cheng, Fang-Jing
Fu, Guoyang
Ling, Yi
Liu, Peng
Wu, Jian-Pin
High Energy Physics - Theory
We study quantum criticality in a holographic Einstein--Maxwell--Dilaton--Axion (EMDA) p-wave superconductor exhibiting a superconductor--insulator transition (SIT). By tracking the superconducting energy gap, we show that approaching the quantum critical point (QCP) closes the gap and induces incipient insulating features, indicating that enhanced quantum fluctuations suppress superconducting order and trigger the SIT. We suggest that this behavior occurs only when the condensate orientation is aligned with the direction of translational symmetry breaking. To probe the transition, we employ two holographic indicators: holographic entanglement entropy (HEE) and the entanglement wedge cross-section (EWCS), the latter being a mixed-state entanglement measure. In contrast to HEE, which for sufficiently large configuration is dominated by the thermal entropy and is therefore largely insensitive to entanglement along the temperature direction, EWCS displays pronounced critical scaling and provides a robust diagnostic of the quantum phase transition (QPT). We attribute this contrast to the fact that HEE at large scales is controlled by the infrared (IR) geometry, whereas EWCS is governed by deformations of the entire bulk. Our results establish EWCS as a robust probe of holographic quantum criticality in mixed states.
title Quantum criticality and mixed-state entanglement in holographic superconductor--insulator transitions
topic High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.14446