We study the Wilson line response in the holographic superconducting phase transitions in the Gauss-Bonnet gravity. In the black brane background case, the Little-Parks periodicity is independent of the Gauss-Bonnet parameter, while in the anti–de Sitter soliton case, there is no evidence for the Little-Parks periodicity. We further study the impact of the Gauss-Bonnet term on the holographic phase transitions quantitatively. For a given Wilson line, a bigger Gauss-Bonnet coefficient makes the phase transition easier for the black brane background while harder for the soliton background. For a given chemical potential, the response to the Wilson line is less sensitive for a bigger Gauss-Bonnet coefficient in the black brane case while the response is more sensitive in the soliton case. And more, a bigger Gauss-Bonnet coefficient makes the superconducting state more stable for both the black brane and the soliton backgrounds.

• Received 24 September 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.87.026002