Matching microscopic and macroscopic responses in glasses

We first reproduce on the Janus and Janus II computers a milestone experiment that measures the spin-glass coherence length through the lowering of free-energy barriers induced by the Zeeman effect. Secondly we determine the scaling behavior that allows a quantitative analysis of a new experiment reported in the companion Letter [S. Guchhait and R. Orbach, Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 157203 (2017)]. The value of the coherence length estimated through the analysis of microscopic correlation functions turns out to be quantitatively consistent with its measurement through macroscopic response functions. Further, non-linear susceptibilities, recently measured in glass-forming liquids, scale as powers of the same microscopic length.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

The Mpemba effect in spin glasses is a persistent memory effect

The Mpemba effect occurs when a hot system cools faster than an initially colder one, when both are refrigerated in the same thermal reservoir. Using the custom built supercomputer Janus II, we study the Mpemba effect in spin glasses and show that it is a non-equilibrium process, governed by the coherence length \xi of the system. The effect occurs when the bath temperature lies in the glassy phase, but it is not necessary for the thermal protocol to cross the critical temperature. In fact, the Mpemba effect follows from a strong relationship between the internal energy and \xi that turns out to be a sure-tell sign of being in the glassy phase. Thus, the Mpemba effect presents itself as an intriguing new avenue for the experimental study of the coherence length in supercooled liquids and other glass formers.Comment: Version accepted for publication in PNAS. 6 pages, 7 figure

The three dimensional Ising spin glass in an external magnetic field: the role of the silent majority

We perform equilibrium parallel-tempering simulations of the 3D Ising Edwards-Anderson spin glass in a field. A traditional analysis shows no signs of a phase transition. Yet, we encounter dramatic fluctuations in the behaviour of the model: Averages over all the data only describe the behaviour of a small fraction of it. Therefore we develop a new approach to study the equilibrium behaviour of the system, by classifying the measurements as a function of a conditioning variate. We propose a finite-size scaling analysis based on the probability distribution function of the conditioning variate, which may accelerate the convergence to the thermodynamic limit. In this way, we find a non-trivial spectrum of behaviours, where a part of the measurements behaves as the average, while the majority of them shows signs of scale invariance. As a result, we can estimate the temperature interval where the phase transition in a field ought to lie, if it exists. Although this would-be critical regime is unreachable with present resources, the numerical challenge is finally well posed.Comment: 42 pages, 19 figures. Minor changes and added figure (results unchanged

Critical parameters of the three-dimensional Ising spin glass

We report a high-precision finite-size scaling study of the critical behavior of the three-dimensional Ising Edwards-Anderson model (the Ising spin glass). We have thermalized lattices up to L=40 using the Janus dedicated computer. Our analysis takes into account leading-order corrections to scaling. We obtain Tc = 1.1019(29) for the critical temperature, \nu = 2.562(42) for the thermal exponent, \eta = -0.3900(36) for the anomalous dimension and \omega = 1.12(10) for the exponent of the leading corrections to scaling. Standard (hyper)scaling relations yield \alpha = -5.69(13), \beta = 0.782(10) and \gamma = 6.13(11). We also compute several universal quantities at Tc.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

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

Spin glasses are a longstanding model for the sluggish dynamics that appears at the glass transition. However, spin glasses differ from structural glasses for 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 behaviour 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.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Critical Behavior of Three-Dimensional Disordered Potts Models with Many States

We study the 3D Disordered Potts Model with p=5 and p=6. Our numerical simulations (that severely slow down for increasing p) detect a very clear spin glass phase transition. We evaluate the critical exponents and the critical value of the temperature, and we use known results at lower $p$ values to discuss how they evolve for increasing p. We do not find any sign of the presence of a transition to a ferromagnetic regime.Comment: 9 pages and 9 Postscript figures. Final version published in J. Stat. Mec

Nature of the spin-glass phase at experimental length scales

We present a massive equilibrium simulation of the three-dimensional Ising spin glass at low temperatures. The Janus special-purpose computer has allowed us to equilibrate, using parallel tempering, L=32 lattices down to T=0.64 Tc. We demonstrate the relevance of equilibrium finite-size simulations to understand experimental non-equilibrium spin glasses in the thermodynamical limit by establishing a time-length dictionary. We conclude that non-equilibrium experiments performed on a time scale of one hour can be matched with equilibrium results on L=110 lattices. A detailed investigation of the probability distribution functions of the spin and link overlap, as well as of their correlation functions, shows that Replica Symmetry Breaking is the appropriate theoretical framework for the physically relevant length scales. Besides, we improve over existing methodologies to ensure equilibration in parallel tempering simulations.Comment: 48 pages, 19 postscript figures, 9 tables. Version accepted for publication in the Journal of Statistical Mechanic

Aging rate of spin glasses from simulations matches experiments

Experiments on spin glasses can now make precise measurements of the exponent $z(T)$ governing the growth of glassy domains, while our computational capabilities allow us to make quantitative predictions for experimental scales. However, experimental and numerical values for $z(T)$ have differed. We use new simulations on the Janus II computer to resolve this discrepancy, finding a time-dependent $z(T, t_w)$, which leads to the experimental value through mild extrapolations. Furthermore, theoretical insight is gained by studying a crossover between the $T = T_c$ and $T = 0$ fixed points.Comment: Version accepted for publication in PRL. 12 pages, 9 figure

Temperature chaos is present in off-equilibrium spin-glass dynamics

We find a dynamic effect in the non-equilibrium dynamics of a spin glass that closely parallels equilibrium temperature chaos. This effect, that we name dynamic temperature chaos, is spatially heterogeneous to a large degree. The key controlling quantity is the time-growing spin-glass coherence length. Our detailed characterization of dynamic temperature chaos paves the way for the analysis of recent and forthcoming experiments. This work has been made possible thanks to the most massive simulation to date of non-equilibrium dynamics, carried out on the Janus~II custom-built supercomputer.Comment: Version accepted for publication in Communication Physics 10 pages, 9 figure