Replica trick with real replicas: A way to build in thermodynamic homogeneity

We present two rigorous results on the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick mean field model for spin glasses, proven by elementary methods, based on properties of fluctuations, with respect to the external quenched noise, of the thermodynamic variables and order parameters. The first result gives the uniform convergence of the quenched average of the free energy in the thermodynamic limit to its annealed approximation, in the high temperature regime, including the assumed critical point ...

At asymptotically late times ultrametricity can emerge from the persistent slow aging dynamics of the glass phase. We show that this suffices to recover the breaking of replica symmetry in mean-field spin glasses from the late time limit of the time evolution using the Keldysh path integral. This provides an alternative approach to replica symmetry breaking by connecting it rigorously to the dynamic formulation. Stationary spin glasses are thereby understood to spontaneously ...

Following an original idea of F. Guerra, in this notes we analyze the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model from different perspectives, all sharing the underlying approach which consists in linking the resolution of the statistical mechanics of the model (e.g. solving for the free energy) to well-known partial differential equation (PDE) problems (in suitable spaces). The plan is then to solve the related PDE using techniques involved in their native field and lastly bringing back t...

Here we review the approach to glassy systems based on the replica method and we introduce the main ingredients of replica symmetry breaking. We explain why the replica method has been successful in spin glass and why it should be successful for real glasses.

Numerical results up to 42nd order of replica symmetry breaking (RSB) are used to predict the singular structure of the SK spin glass at T=0. We confirm predominant single parameter scaling and derive corrections for the T=0 order function q(a), related to a Langevin equation with pseudotime 1/a. a=0 and a=\infty are shown to be two critical points for \infty-RSB, associated with two discrete spectra of Parisi block size ratios, attached to a continuous spectrum. Finite-RSB-s...

For large but finite systems the static properties of the infinite ranged Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model are numerically investigated in the entire the glass regime. The approach is based on the modified Thouless-Anderson-Palmer equations in combination with a phenomenological relaxational dynamics used as a numerical tool. For all temperatures and all bond configurations stable and meta stable states are found. Following a discussion of the finite size effects, the static pro...

We study hierarchies of replica-symmetry-breaking solutions of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model. Stationarity equations for order parameters of solutions with an arbitrary number of hierarchies are set and the limit to infinite number of hierarchical levels is discussed. In particular, we demonstrate how the continuous replica-symmetry breaking scheme of Parisi emerges and how the limit to infinite-many hierarchies leads to equations for the order-parameter function of the c...

We study properties of the energy minima obtained by quenching equilibrium configurations of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick (SK) mean field spin glass. We measure the probability distribution of the overlap among quenched configurations and the quenched energy, looking at the dependence on the starting equilibrium temperature, and performing a systematic analysis of finite size effects.

We investigate generalized Sherrington--Kirkpatrick glassy systems without reflection symmetry. In the neighbourhood of the transition temperature we in general uncover the structure of the glass state building the full-replica-symmetry breaking solution. Physical example of explicitly constructed solution is given.

The concept of replica symmetry breaking found in the solution of the mean-field Sherrington-Kirkpatrick spin-glass model has been applied to a variety of problems in science ranging from biological to computational and even financial analysis. Thus it is of paramount importance to understand which predictions of the mean-field solution apply to non-mean-field systems, such as realistic short-range spin-glass models. The one-dimensional spin glass with random power-law intera...