The Gonihedric 3D Ising model is a lattice spin model in which planar Peierls
boundaries between + and - spins can be created at zero energy cost. Instead of
weighting the area of Peierls boundaries as the case for the usual 3D Ising
model with nearest neighbour interactions, the edges, or "bends" in an
interface are weighted, a concept which is related to the intrinsic curvature
of the boundaries in the continuum.
In these notes we follow a roughly chronological order by first reviewing the
background to the formulation of the model, before moving on to the elucidation
of the equilibrium phase diagram by various means and then to investigation of
the non-equilibrium, glassy behaviour of the model.Comment: To appear as Chapter 7 in Rugged Free-Energy Landscapes - An
Introduction, Springer Lecture Notes in Physics, 736, ed. W. Janke, (2008
