New dynamical instability in asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetime

Abstract

We present fully dynamical solutions to Einstein-scalar theory in asymptotically anti–de Sitter spacetime with a scalar potential containing particularly rich physics. Depending on one parameter in the potential, we find an especially interesting regime, which exhibits a dynamically unstable black brane, already at zero momentum, while nevertheless having positive specific heat. We show this using the nonlinear dynamics and give a clear interpretation in terms of the spectrum of linearized perturbations. Our results translate directly to their dual strongly coupled nonconformal field theories, whereby we in particular provide two mechanisms to obtain equilibration times much larger than the inverse temperature.