Holographic Checkerboards

We construct cohomogeneity-three, finite temperature stationary black brane solutions dual to a field theory exhibiting checkerboard order. The checkerboards form a backreacted part of the bulk solution, and are obtained numerically from the coupled Einstein-Maxwell-scalar PDE system. They arise spontaneously and without the inclusion of an explicit lattice. The phase exhibits both charge and global U(1)-current modulation, which are periodic in two spatial directions. The current circulates within each checkerboard plaquette. We explore the competition with striped phases, finding first-order checkerboard to stripe phase transitions. We also detail spatially modulated instabilities of asymptotically AdS black brane backgrounds with neutral scalar profiles, including those with an hyperscaling violating IR geometry at zero temperature.