Black hole spectra in holography: Consequences for equilibration of dual gauge theories

For a closed system to equilibrate from a given initial condition there must exist an equilibrium state with the energy equal to the initial one. Equilibrium states of a strongly coupled gauge theory with a gravitational holographic dual are represented by black holes. We study the spectrum of black holes in Pilch–Warner geometry. These black holes are holographically dual to equilibrium states of strongly coupled SU(N)SU(N)N=2⁎N=2⁎ gauge theory plasma on S3S3 in the planar limit. We find that there is no energy gap in the black hole spectrum. Thus, there is a priori no obstruction for equilibration of arbitrary low-energy states in the theory via a small black hole gravitational collapse. The latter is contrasted with phenomenological examples of holography with dual four-dimensional CFTs having non-equal central charges in the stress–energy tensor trace anomaly.