Scale-invariant hyperscaling-violating holographic theories and the resistivity of strange metals with random-field disorder

TL;DR

The paper addresses dc transport in scale-invariant, hyperscaling-violating strange metals subjected to weak random-field disorder. It employs both holographic Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton models and memory matrix techniques to derive a universal scaling for the dc resistivity, $\\rho_{\\mathrm{dc}} \\sim \\varepsilon^2 T^{2(1+\\Delta - z)/z}$, which is independent of the hyperscaling violation exponent $\\theta$ and governed by the operator dimension $\\Delta$. A generalized Harris criterion $\\Delta < (d-\\theta)/2 + z$ determines perturbative validity, and perturbation theory can break down at $\\varepsilon \sim T^{(z-\\Delta+(d-\\theta)/2)/z}$, leading to a non-perturbative regime with $\\rho_{\\mathrm{dc}} \\sim T^{(2+d-\\theta)/z}$. In the $z \to \infty$ limit, the onset of strong disorder yields $\\rho_{\\mathrm{dc}} \\sim s$ (up to possible logarithmic corrections). The results are cross-validated by two independent methods and illuminate how random-field disorder shapes transport in strongly coupled quantum critical systems with hyperscaling violation.

Abstract

We compute the direct current resistivity of a scale-invariant, $d$-dimensional strange metal with dynamic critical exponent $z$ and hyperscaling-violating exponent $θ$, weakly perturbed by a scalar operator coupled to random-field disorder that locally breaks a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry. Independent calculations via Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton holography and memory matrix methods lead to the same results. We show that random field disorder has a strong effect on resistivity: charge carriers in the infrared are easily depleted, as the relaxation time for momentum is surprisingly small. In the course of our holographic calculation we use a non-trivial dilaton coupling to the disordered scalar, allowing us to study a strongly-coupled scale invariant theory with $θ\ne 0$. Using holography, we are also able to determine the disorder strength at which perturbation theory breaks down. Curiously, for locally critical theories this breakdown occurs when the resistivity is proportional to the entropy density, up to a possible logarithmic correction.