  Gauge/gravity duality applied to strongly interacting systems at finite
density predicts a universal intermediate energy phase to which we refer as a
semi-local quantum liquid. Such a phase is characterized by a finite spatial
correlation length, but an infinite correlation time and associated nontrivial
scaling behavior in the time direction, as well as a nonzero entropy density.
For a holographic system at a nonzero chemical potential, this unstable phase
sets in at an energy scale of order of the chemical potential, and orders at
lower energies into other phases; examples include superconductors and
antiferromagnetic-type states. In this paper we give examples in which it also
orders into Fermi liquids of "heavy" fermions. While the precise nature of the
lower energy state depends on the specific dynamics of the individual system,
we argue that the semi-local quantum liquid emerges universally at intermediate
energies through deconfinement (or equivalently fractionalization). We also
discuss the possible relevance of such a semi-local quantum liquid to heavy
electron systems and the strange metal phase of high temperature cuprate
superconductors.
