On Marginal Deformations and Non-Integrability

We study the interplay between a particular marginal deformation of ${\cal N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory, the $\beta$ deformation, and integrability in the holographic setting. Using modern methods of analytic non-integrability of Hamiltonian systems, we find that, when the $\beta$ parameter takes imaginary values, classical string trajectories on the dual background become non-integrable. We expect the same to be true for generic complex $\beta$ parameter. By exhibiting the Poincar\'e sections and phase space trajectories for the generic complex $\beta$ case, we provide numerical evidence of strong sensitivity to initial conditions. Our findings agree with expectations from weak coupling that the complex $\beta$ deformation is non-integrable and provide a rigorous argument beyond the trial and error approach to non-integrability.