The interplay between quantum fluctuations and disorder is investigated in a quantum spin-glass model, in the presence of a uniform transverse field $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}$, as well as of a longitudinal random field
hi, which follows a Gaussian distribution characterized by a width proportional to $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}$. The interactions are infinite-ranged, and the model is studied through the replica formalism, within a one-step replica-symmetry-breaking procedure; in addition, the dependence of the Almeida-Thouless eigenvalue ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{\mathrm{AT}}$ (replicon) on the applied fields is analyzed. This study is motivated by experimental investigations on the ${\mathrm{LiHo}}_{x}{\mathrm{Y}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{F}}_{4}$ compound, where the application of a transverse magnetic field yields rather intriguing effects, particularly related to the behavior of the nonlinear magnetic susceptibility ${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{3}$, which have led to a considerable experimental and theoretical debate. We have analyzed two physically distinct situations, namely, $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}$ and $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}$ considered as independent, as well as these two quantities related, as proposed recently by some authors. In both cases, a spin-glass phase transition is found at a temperature
Tf, with such phase being characterized by a nontrivial ergodicity breaking; moreover,
Tf decreases by increasing $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}$ towards a quantum critical point at zero temperature. The situation where $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}$ and $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}$ are related $[\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}\ensuremath{\equiv}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}(\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}})]$ appears to reproduce better the experimental observations on the ${\mathrm{LiHo}}_{x}{\mathrm{Y}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{F}}_{4}$ compound, with the theoretical results coinciding qualitatively with measurements of the nonlinear susceptibility ${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{3}$. In this later case, by increasing $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}$ gradually, ${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{3}$ becomes progressively rounded, presenting a maximum at a temperature
T∗ (T∗>Tf), with both the amplitude of the maximum and the value of
T∗ decreasing gradually. Moreover, we also show that the random field is the main responsible for the smearing of the nonlinear susceptibility, acting significantly inside the paramagnetic phase, leading to two regimes delimited by the temperature
T∗, one for
Tf<T<T∗, and another one for
T>T∗. It is argued that the conventional paramagnetic state corresponds to
T>T∗, whereas the temperature region
Tf<T<T∗ may be characterized by a rather unusual dynamics, possibly including Griffiths singularities.
We examine the quantum phase transition at zero temperature between paramagnetic and spin-glass-ordered phases as the strength of a uniform transverse field, \ensuremath{\Gamma}, is varied. At the critical point, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathit{c}}$, the spin autocorrelation function decays with time, t, as ${\mathit{t}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}2}$. As the transition is approached from the paramagnetic phase the nonlinear susceptibility diverges as {\ensuremath{\Vert}ln(\ensuremath{\Gamma}-${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathit{c}}$)\ensuremath{\Vert}/(\ensuremath{\Gamma}-${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\mathit{c}}$)${\mathrm{}}}^{1/2}$.
We introduce an effective field theory for the vicinity of a zero-temperature quantum transition between a metallic spin glass (``spin density glass'') and a metallic quantum paramagnet. Following a mean-field analysis, we perform a perturbative renormalization-group study and find that the critical properties are dominated by static disorder-induced fluctuations, and that dynamic quantum-mechanical effects are dangerously irrelevant. A Gaussian fixed point is stable for a finite range of couplings for spatial dimensionality d>8, but disorder effects always lead to runaway flows to strong coupling for d\ensuremath{\le}8. Scaling hypotheses for a static strong-coupling critical field theory are proposed. The nonlinear susceptibility has an anomalously weak singularity at such a critical point. Although motivated by a perturbative study of metallic spin glasses, the scaling hypotheses are more general, and could apply to other quantum spin glass to paramagnet transitions.
A mean-field spherical model with random couplings between pairs, quartets, and possibly higher multiplets of spins is considered. It has the same critical behavior as the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model. It thus exhibits replica symmetry breaking. The order parameter function is solved exactly in the whole low temperature phase. The zero-field-cooled susceptibility remains finite at low
T. Next a quantum version of the system is considered. Whereas the magnetic properties are not altered qualitatively, the thermodynamics is now regular at small temperatures.
We examine a model of M-component quantum rotors coupled by Gaussian-distributed random, infinite-range exchange interactions. A complete solution is obtained at M=\ensuremath{\infty} in the spin-glass and quantum-disordered phases. The quantum phase transition separating them is found to possess logarithmic violations of scaling, with no further modifications to the leading critical behavior at any order in 1/M; this suggests that the critical properties of the transverse-field Ising model (believed to be identical to the M\ensuremath{\rightarrow}1 limit) are the same as those of the M=\ensuremath{\infty} quantum rotors.