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Dynamical instability and transport peak of chiral matter from holography

Pei Zheng1,2,*, Yidian Chen3,†, Danning Li4,‡, Mei Huang1,§, and Yu-xin Liu2,5,∥

  • *Contact author: zhengp@stu.pku.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: chenyidian@hznu.edu.cn
  • ‡Contact author: lidanning@jnu.edu.cn
  • §Contact author: huangmei@ucas.ac.cn
  • ∥Contact author: yxliu@pku.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. D 112, 086007 – Published 10 October, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/mxkj-lcnn

Abstract

We study dynamical properties of strongly coupled chiral matter by using the holographic method. We demonstrate, at both linear and nonlinear levels, that perturbations on thermodynamically unstable backgrounds within the spinodal region of chiral first-order phase transitions exhibit dynamic instability. The corresponding magnitude of dynamic instability can be characterized by the critical momentum. Furthermore, we found that, within a certain temperature range, the quasinormal-mode spectrum contains purely imaginary diffusive modes. As spatial momentum increases, a transition occurs in the system’s long-time dynamics. The dominant contribution shifts from diffusive mode to propagating mode. When the diffusive mode becomes dominant, the spectral function exhibits a transport peak structure in the low-frequency region. A heuristic argument suggests that this particular transition can be related to the chiral symmetry breaking and restoration.

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 086007– Published 10 October, 2025
  • Received 4 August 2025
  • Accepted 16 September 2025
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