Thermodynamic glass transition in a spin glass without time-reversal symmetry

Spin glasses are a longstanding model for the sluggish dynamics that appear at the glass transition. However, spin glasses differ from structural glasses in a crucial feature: they enjoy a time reversal symmetry. This symmetry can be broken by applying an external magnetic field, but embarrassingly...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Fernández Pérez, Luis Antonio, Martín Mayor, Víctor, Muñoz Sudupe, Antonio, Seoane Bartolomé, Beatriz, Yllanes Mosquera, David, et al, ...
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/45038
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/45038
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:51-73
53
Monte-Carlo
Model
Equilibrium
Simulations
Computer
Behavior
Torus
Field.
Física (Física)
Física-Modelos matemáticos
22 Física
Descripción
Sumario:Spin glasses are a longstanding model for the sluggish dynamics that appear at the glass transition. However, spin glasses differ from structural glasses in a crucial feature: they enjoy a time reversal symmetry. This symmetry can be broken by applying an external magnetic field, but embarrassingly little is known about the critical behavior of a spin glass in a field. In this context, the space dimension is crucial. Simulations are easier to interpret in a large number of dimensions, but one must work below the upper critical dimension (i.e., in d < 6) in order for results to have relevance for experiments. Here we show conclusive evidence for the presence of a phase transition in a four-dimensional spin glass in a field. Two ingredients were crucial for this achievement: massive numerical simulations were carried out on the Janus special-purpose computer, and a new and powerful finite-size scaling method.