Luttinger's theorem, superfluid vortices, and holography

Abstract

Strongly coupled field theories with gravity duals can be placed at finite density in two ways: electric field flux emanating from behind a horizon, or bulk charged fields outside of the horizon that explicitly source the density. We discuss field-theoretical observables that are sensitive to this distinction. If the charged fields are fermionic, we discuss a modified Luttinger's theorem that holds for holographic systems, in which the sum of boundary theory Fermi surfaces counts only the charge outside of the horizon. If the charged fields are bosonic, we show that the resulting superfluid phase may be characterized by the coefficient of the transverse Magnus force on a moving superfluid vortex, which again is sensitive only to the charge outside of the horizon. For holographic systems, these observables provide a field-theoretical way to distinguish how much charge is held by a dual horizon, but they may be useful in more general contexts as measures of deconfined (i.e. 'fractionalized') charge degrees of freedom.