Holographic Systems out of Equilibrium: From Flavor Branes to SYK Wormholes

Abstract

The discovery of the AdS/CFT correspondence in 1997 opened a new path to understanding the connection between gravity and quantum field theory, providing a concrete realization of the holographic principle. In this thesis, we use the powerful framework of this duality to study the non-equilibrium dynamics of strongly-coupled quantum systems, with particular focus on periodic drivings and real-time evolution. We focus on two complementary systems: top-down string theory constructions involving D-brane intersections, and low-dimensional holographic models such as the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model and its traversable wormhole extension. This work contributes to the broader effort to uncover the deep connections between strongly-coupled quantum systems and gravitational physics.