L-1

Goal: Spin glass transition. From the experiments with the anomaly on the magnetic susceptibility to order parameter of the transition. We will discuss the arguments linked to extreme value statistics

Spin glass Transition

Spin glass behavior was first observed in experiments with non-magnetic metals (such as Cu, Fe, Au, etc.) doped with a small percentage of magnetic impurities, typically Mn. At low doping levels, the magnetic moments of Mn atoms interact via the Ruderman–Kittel–Kasuya–Yosida (RKKY) interaction. This interaction has a random sign due to the random spatial distribution of Mn atoms within the non-magnetic metal. A freezing temperature, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle T_f} , separates the high-temperature paramagnetic phase from the low-temperature spin glass phase:

• Above Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle T_f} : The magnetic susceptibility follows the standard Curie law, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \chi(T) \sim 1/T} .
• Below $T_{f}$: Strong metastability emerges, leading to differences between the field-cooled (FC) and zero-field-cooled (ZFC) protocols:

(i) In the ZFC protocol, the susceptibility decreases with decreasing temperature, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle T} .

(ii)In the FC protocol, the susceptibility freezes at Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle T_f} , remaining constant at $\chi _{FC}(T<T_{f})=\chi (T_{f})$.

Understanding whether these data reveal a true thermodynamic transition and determining the nature of this new "glassy" phase remains an open challenge to this day. However, in the early 1980s, spin glass models were successfully solved within the mean-field approximation. In this limit, it is possible to determine the phase diagram and demonstrate the existence of a glassy phase where the entropy vanishes at a finite temperature. Furthermore, a condensation of the Gibbs measure onto a few configurations is observed.

Edwards Anderson model

The first significant theoretical attempt to describe spin glasses is the Edwards-Anderson model. For simplicity, we will consider the Ising version of this model.

Ising spins take two values, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \sigma_i = \pm 1} , and are located on a lattice with Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle N} sites, indexed by Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle i = 1, 2, \ldots, N} . The energy of the system is expressed as a sum over nearest neighbors Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \langle i, j \rangle} :

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle E = - \sum_{\langle i, j \rangle} J_{ij} \sigma_i \sigma_j. }

Edwards and Anderson proposed studying this model with couplings Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle J_{ij}} that are independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) random variables with a zero mean. The coupling distribution is denoted by Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \pi(J)} , and the average over the couplings, referred to as the disorder average, is indicated by an overline:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \overline{J} \equiv \int dJ \, J \, \pi(J) = 0. }

We will consider two specific coupling distributions:

• Gaussian couplings: Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \pi(J) = \exp\left(-J^2 / 2\right) / \sqrt{2 \pi}} .
• Coin-toss couplings: Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle J = \pm 1} , chosen with equal probability Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle 1/2} .

Edwards Anderson order parameter

Since Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \overline{J} = 0} , the model does not exhibit spatial magnetic order, such as ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic order. Instead, the idea is to distinguish between two phases:

• Paramagnetic phase: Configurations are explored with all possible spin orientations.
• Spin glass phase: Spin orientations are random but frozen (i.e., immobile).

The glass phase is characterized by long-range correlations in time, despite the absence of long-range correlations in space. The order parameter for this phase is:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle q_{EA} = \lim_{t \to \infty} \lim_{N \to \infty} \frac{1}{N} \sum_{i} \sigma_i(0) \sigma_i(t), }

where Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle q_{EA}} measures the overlap of the spin configuration with itself after a long time.

In the paramagnetic phase, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle q_{EA} = 0} , while in the spin glass phase, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle q_{EA} > 0} .

This raises the question of whether the transition at Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle T_f} is truly thermodynamic in nature. Indeed, in the definition of the Edwards-Anderson (EA) parameter, time seems to play a role, and the magnetic susceptibility does not diverge at the freezing temperature Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle T_f} . The divergence of the magnetic susceptibility in ferromagnets is due to the fact that the magnetization Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle M = \sum_i \sigma_i} serves as the order parameter, distinguishing the ordered and disordered phases. However, in the spin glass model, magnetization is zero in both phases and the order parameter is Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle q_{EA}} .

It can be shown that the associated susceptibility corresponds to the nonlinear susceptibility:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \frac{M}{H} = \chi + a_3 H^2 + a_5 H^4 + \ldots }

where Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \chi} is the linear susceptibility, and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle a_3, a_5, \ldots} are higher-order coefficients. Experiments have demonstrated that $a_{3}$ and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle a_5} exhibit singular behavior, providing experimental evidence for the existence of a thermodynamic transition at Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle T_f} .

The SK model

Sherrington and Kirkpatrik considered the fully connected version of the model with Gaussian couplings:

$E=-\sum _{i,j}{\frac {J_{ij}}{\sqrt {N}}}\sigma _{i}\sigma _{j}$

At the inverse temperature Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \beta } , the partion function of the model is

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle Z= \sum_{\alpha=1}^{2^N} z_{\alpha}, \quad \text{with}\; z_{\alpha}= e^{-\beta E_\alpha} }

Here $E_{\alpha }$ is the energy associated to the configuration Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \alpha } . This model presents a thermodynamic transition.

Random energy model

The solution of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick (SK) model is challenging. To make progress, we first study the Random Energy Model (REM), introduced by B. Derrida. This model simplifies the problem by neglecting correlations between the Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle M=2^N} configurations and assuming that the energies $E_{\alpha }$ are independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) random variables. Here, "independent" means that the energy of one configuration does not influence the energy of another, e.g., a configuration identical to the previous one except for a spin flip. "Identically distributed" indicates that all configurations follow the same probability distribution.

Energy Distribution: Show that the energy distribution is given by:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle p(E_\alpha) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2 \pi \sigma_M^2}} \exp\left(-\frac{E_{\alpha}^2}{2 \sigma_M^2}\right) }

and determine that:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \sigma_M^2 = N = \frac{\log M}{\log 2}}

.

In the following, we present the original solution of the model. Here, we characterize the glassy phase by analyzing the statistical properties of the smallest energy values among the $M=2^{N}$ configurations. To address this, it is necessary to make a brief detour into the theory of extreme value statistics for i.i.d. random variables.

Detour: Extreme Value Statistics

Consider the Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle M} energies Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle E_1, \dots, E_M} as independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) random variables drawn from a distribution $p(E)$. It is useful to introduce the cumulative probability of finding an energy smaller than E:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P^<(E) = \int_{-\infty}^E dx \, p(x)}

The complementary probability of finding an energy larger than E is:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P^>(E) = \int_E^{+\infty} dx \, p(x) = 1 - P^<(E)}

We define:

$E_{\min }=\min(E_{1},\dots ,E_{M})$

Our goal is to compute the cumulative distribution:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle Q_M(\epsilon) \equiv \text{Prob}(E_{\min} > \epsilon)}

for large Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle M} . To achieve this, we rely on three key relations:

• First relation:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle Q_M(\epsilon) = \left(P^>(\epsilon)\right)^M}

This relation is exact but depends on Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle M} and the precise form of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle p(E)} . However, in the large Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle M} limit, a universal behavior emerges.

• Second relation: The typical value of the minimum energy, Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle E_{\min}^{\text{typ}}} , satisfies:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P^<(E_{\min}^{\text{typ}}) = \frac{1}{M}}

This is an estimation of the typical value of the minimum. It is a crucial relation that will be used frequently in this context.

• Third relation: For Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle M \to \infty} , we have:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle Q_M(\epsilon) = e^{M \log(1 - P^<(\epsilon))} \sim \exp\left(-M P^<(\epsilon)\right)}

This is an approximation valid around the typical value of the minimum energy.

A Concrete Example: The Gaussian Case

To understand how a universal scaling form emerges, let us analyze in detail the case of a Gaussian distribution with zero mean and variance Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \sigma^2} . Using integration by parts, we can write :

$P^{<}(E)=\int _{-\infty }^{E}{\frac {dx}{\sqrt {2\pi \sigma ^{2}}}}\,e^{-{\frac {x^{2}}{2\sigma ^{2}}}}={\frac {1}{2{\sqrt {\pi }}}}\int _{\frac {E^{2}}{2\sigma ^{2}}}^{\infty }{\frac {dt}{\sqrt {t}}}e^{-t}={\frac {\sigma }{{\sqrt {2\pi }}|E|}}e^{-{\frac {E^{2}}{2\sigma ^{2}}}}-{\frac {1}{4{\sqrt {\pi }}}}\int _{\frac {E^{2}}{2\sigma ^{2}}}^{\infty }{\frac {dt}{t}}e^{-t}$

Hence we derive the following asymptotic expansion for $E\to -\infty$ :

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P^<(E) \approx \frac{\sigma}{\sqrt{2 \pi} |E|} e^{-\frac{E^2}{2 \sigma^2}} + O(\frac{e^{-\frac{E^2}{2 \sigma^2}}}{ |E|^2} ) }

It is convenient to introduce the function Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle A(E)} defined as

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P^<(E) = \exp(-A(E)) \quad A_{\text{gauss}}(E)= \frac{E^2}{2 \sigma^2} + \log(\frac{\sqrt{2 \pi} |E|}{\sigma})+\ldots }

Using this expansion and the second relation introduced earlier, show that for large Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle M} , the typical value of the minimum energy is:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle E_{\min}^{\text{typ}} = -\sigma \sqrt{2 \log M} + \frac{1}{2} \sqrt{\log(\log M)} + O(1)}

The Scaling Form in the Large M Limit

In the spirit of the central limit theorem, we look for a scaling form:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle E_{\min} = a_M + b_M z}

The constants Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle a_M} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle b_M} absorb the dependence on Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle M} , while the random variable Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle z} is distributed according to a probability distribution Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P(z)} that does not depend on Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle M} .

Starting from the third relation introduced earlier, we expand Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle A(E)} around Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle a_M} :

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle Q_M(E) \sim \exp\left(-M P^<(E)\right) = \exp\left(-M e^{-A(E)}\right) \sim \exp\left(-M e^{-A(a_M) - A'(a_M) (E - a_M) + \ldots}\right)}

We identify:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle a_M = E_{\min}^{\text{typ}} \quad \text{and} \quad b_M = \frac{1}{A'(a_M)}}

This implies:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \exp(-A(a_M)) = \frac{1}{M} \quad \text{and} \quad Q_M(E) \sim \exp\left(-\frac{E - a_M}{b_M}\right)}

Therefore, the variable Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle z = (E - a_M)/b_M} is distributed according the Gumbel distribution:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P(z) = \exp(-z) \exp(-e^{-z})}

It is possible to generalize the result and classify the scaling forms into three distinct universality classes:

• Gumbel Distribution:
  • Characteristics:
    • Applies when the tails of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle p(E)} decay faster than any power law.
    • Example: Gaussian or exponential distributions Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle p(E) = \exp(E) \quad \text{with} \quad E\in (-\infty, 0)} .
  • Scaling Form:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P(z) = \exp(-z) \exp(-e^{-z})}

• Weibull Distribution:
  • Characteristics:
    • Applies to distributions with finite lower bounds.
    • Example: Uniform or Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle p(E) = \exp(-E) \quad \text{with} \quad E\in (0,-\infty)} .
  • Scaling Form:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P(z) = k z^{k-1} \exp(-z^k)}

where Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle k \ge 0} controls the shape of the distribution.

• Fréchet Distribution:
  • Characteristics:
    • Applies when the tails of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle p(E)} exhibit a power-law decay Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \sim E^{-\alpha}} .
    • Example: Pareto or Lévy distributions.
  • Scaling Form:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle P(z) = \alpha z^{-\alpha-1} \exp(-z^{-\alpha})}

These three classes, known as the Gumbel, Weibull, and Fréchet distributions, represent the universality of extreme value statistics and cover all possible asymptotic behaviors of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle p(E)} .

Ground State Fluctuations

Depending on the distribution Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle p(E)} , we observe different dependencies of M for Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle a_M} and Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle b_M} . To emphasize the N dependence, we define:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle b_M \equiv 1/y_N \propto N^{\omega}}

Note that the typical fluctuations of the minimum are Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \sim 1/y_N} . Specifically, we can write:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \overline{\left(E_{\min} - \overline{E_{\min}}\right)^2} \propto N^{2\omega}}

We will see that three distinct scenarios emerge depending on the sign of Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \omega} .

Density of states above the minimum

For a given disorder realization, we compute $n(x)$, the number of configurations above the minimum with an energy smaller than Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle E_{\min}+x} . The key relation for this quantity is:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \text{Prob}[d(x) = k] = M \binom{M-1}{k}\int_{-\infty}^\infty dE \; p(E) [P^>(E) - P^>(E+x) ]^{k} P^>(E+x)^{M - k - 1} }

Taking the average, we get Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \overline{n(x)} = \sum_k k \, \text{Prob}[d(x) = k] } . We use the following identity

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \sum_{k=0}^{M-1} k \binom{M-1}{k} (A-B)^k B^{M-1-k} = (A-B)\frac{d}{d A} \sum_{k=0}^{M-1} \binom{M-1}{k} (A-B)^k B^{M-1-k}= (M-1)(A-B)A^{M-2} }

we arrive to the final form

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \overline{n(x)} = M (M-1) \int dE \; p(E) \left[P^>(E) - P^>(E+x) \right] P^>(E)^{M-2} }

Replace Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle E=a_M + b_M z } and obtain

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \overline{n(x)} = \left(e^{y_N x}-1\right) \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} dz e^{2 z -e^{z} } = \left(e^{y_N x}-1\right)\quad \text{with} \; y_N \sim N^{-\omega} }

The Glass Phase

In the glass phase, the measure is concentrated in a few configurations with finite occupation probability, while in the paramagnetic phase, the occupation probability is Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \sim 1/M} . As a result, the entropy is extensive in the paramagnetic phase but sub-extensive in the glass phase. It is useful to compare the weight of the ground state against the weight of other states. Define:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \frac{\sum_\alpha z_\alpha}{z_{\alpha_{\min}}} = 1 + \sum_{\alpha \ne \alpha_{\min}} \frac{z_\alpha}{z_{\alpha_{\min}}}= 1 + \sum_{\alpha \ne \alpha_{\min}} e^{-\beta(E_\alpha-E_\min)}\sim 1 + \int_0^\infty dx \, e^{-\beta x} \left(e^{y_N x} - 1\right) }

• In the high-temperature phase, for Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \beta < y_N} , the weight of the excited states diverges. This means that the ground state is not deep enough to make the system glassy.
• In the low-temperature phase, for Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \beta > y_N} , the integral is finite:

Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \int_0^\infty dx \, e^{-\beta x} \left(e^{y_N x} - 1\right)= \frac{1}{\beta -y_N} - \frac{1}{\beta}= \frac{T^2}{T_f-T} }

This means that below the freezing temperature the weight of all the excited states is of the same order of the weight of the ground state which implies that the ground state is occupied with a finite probability, similar to Bose-Einstein condensation.

Take home message

Let us recall Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle y_N \sim N^{-\omega}} , so that three situations can occur

• For Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \omega<0} , there is no freezing transition as there are too many states just above the minimum. This is the situation of many low-dimensional systems such as the Edwards Anderson model is two dimensions.
• For Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \omega>0} there are two important features: (i) there is only the glass phase, (ii) the system condensate only in the ground state because the excited states have very high energy. We will see that in real systems (i) is not always the case and that the exponent Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \omega} can change with temperature. This situation can be realistic (there is a very deep groud sate), but it is not revolutionary as the following one.
• For Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle \omega=0} there is for sure a freezing transition. For the Random Energy Model defined above Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle T_f=1/\sqrt{2 \log 2}} One important feature of this transition that we will see in the next tutorial is that the condensation does not occur only in the ground state but in a large (yet not extensive) number of low energy exctitations.

References

• Spin glass i-vii, P.W. Anderson, Physics Today, 1988
• Spin glasses: Experimental signatures and salient outcome, E. Vincent and V. Dupuis, Frustrated Materials and Ferroic Glasses 31 (2018).
• Theory of spin glasses, S. F. Edwards and P. W. Anderson, J. Phys. F: Met. Phys. 5 965 (1975).
• Non-linear susceptibility in spin glasses and disordered systems, H. Bouchiat, Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 9, 1811 (1997).
• Solvable Model of a Spin-Glass, D. Sherrington and S. Kirkpatrick, Physical Review Letters, 35, 1792 (1975).
• Random-Energy Model: An Exactly Solvable Model of Disordered Systems, B.Derrida,Physical Review B, 24, 2613 (1980).
• Extreme value statistics of correlated random variables: a pedagogical review, S. N. Majumdar, A. Pal, and G. Schehr, Physics Reports 840, 1-32, (2020).