Pole skipping in holographic theories with gauge and fermionic fields

Abstract Using covariant expansions, recent work showed that pole skipping happens in general holographic theories with bosonic fields at frequencies i(l b − s)2πT, where l b is the highest integer spin in the theory and s takes all positive integer values. We revisit this formalism in theories with gauge symmetry and upgrade the pole-skipping condition so that it works without having to remove the gauge redundancy. We also extend the formalism by incorporating fermions with general spins and interactions and show that their presence generally leads to a separate tower of pole-skipping points at frequencies i(l f − s)2πT, l f being the highest half-integer spin in the theory and s again taking all positive integer values. We also demonstrate the practical value of this formalism using a selection of examples with spins 0, 1 2 $$ \frac{1}{2} $$ , 1, 3 2 $$ \frac{3}{2} $$ , 2.