Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Journal of Applied Physics

Contours of constant χSG in the H-T plane: Mean-field versus droplet theories of Ising spin glasses

Rajiv R. P. Singh, David A. Huse

Published Apr 15, 1991• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

One of the central features of the mean-field theory of Ising spin glasses is the de Almeida-Thouless phase transition line in the H-T plane, where the spin-glass susceptibility χSG diverges. Contours of constant χSG in the paramagnetic phase go to high fields as T→0 in mean-field theory. In contrast, in the droplet theory for short-ranged spin glasses, χSG remains finite in a field and the contours go to H=0 as T→0. We have investigated the constant χSG contours both in the SK model and for d-dimensional short-ranged spin glasses. For the latter we use transfer matrix methods in d=1 and high-temperature expansions and Monte Carlo simulations in higher d. The results are in good accord with droplet theory for d=1 and 2. For d=3 the evidence remains ambiguous, although extrapolations of high-temperature series are qualitatively different from d=2.

DOI
10.1063/1.348086

Related papers

Finite-size critical scaling in Ising spin glasses in the mean-field regime

Timo Aspelmeier, Helmut G. Katzgraber, Derek Larson +3 more

We study in Ising spin glasses the finite-size effects near the spin-glass transition in zero field and at the de Almeida-Thouless transition in a field by Monte Carlo methods and by analytical approximations. In zero field, the finite-size scaling function associated with the spin-glass susceptibility of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick mean-field spin-glass model is of the same form as that of one-dimensional spin-glass models with power-law long-range interactions in the regime where they can be a proxy for the Edwards-Anderson short-range spin-glass model above the upper critical dimension. We also calculate a simple analytical approximation for the spin-glass susceptibility crossover function. The behavior of the spin-glass susceptibility near the de Almeida-Thouless transition line has also been studied, but here we have only been able to obtain analytically its behavior in the asymptotic limit above and below the transition. We have also simulated the one-dimensional system in a field in the non-mean-field regime to illustrate that when the Imry-Ma droplet length scale exceeds the system size one can then be erroneously lead to conclude that there is a de Almeida-Thouless transition even though it is absent.

arXiv:1509.05372•Physical review. E•Mar 14, 2016•21 citations

de Almeida–Thouless instability in short-range Ising spin glasses

Rajiv R. P. Singh, A. P. Young

We use high-temperature series expansions to study the ±J Ising spin glass in a magnetic field in d-dimensional hypercubic lattices for d=5-8 and in the infinite-range Sherrington-Kirkpatrick (SK) model. The expansions are obtained in the variable w=tanh^{2}J/T for arbitrary values of u=tanh^{2}h/T complete to order w^{10}. We find that the scaling dimension Δ associated with the ordering-field h^{2} equals 2 in the SK model and for d≥6. However, in agreement with the work of Fisher and Sompolinsky [Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 1063 (1985)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.54.1063], there is a violation of scaling in a finite field, leading to an anomalous h-T dependence of the de Almeida-Thouless (AT) [J. Phys. A 11, 983 (1978)JPHAC50305-447010.1088/0305-4470/11/5/028] line in high dimensions, whereas scaling is restored as d→6. Within the convergence of our series analysis, we present evidence supporting an AT line in d≥6. In d=5, the exponents γ and Δ are substantially larger than mean-field values, but we do not see clear evidence for the AT line in d=5.

arXiv:1705.01164•Physical review. E•Jul 13, 2017•8 citations

Evidence of the de Almeida-Thouless transition in three-dimensional spin glasses

L. H. Miranda-Filho, Yuliang Jin

The nature of spin-glass states in a magnetic field remains a major open problem in statistical physics. The existence of the de Almeida-Thouless (dAT) transition for three-dimensional (3D) spin glasses in a field is still debated. We introduce a new computational method to define the spin-glass susceptibility, which is robust against the broad tail in the overlap distribution that undermines conventional analyses. Applying this approach to the Edwards-Anderson spin-glass model in 2D and 3D, and contrasting with the 3D Ising (without disorder) and mean-field spin-glass models, we find a stark difference: the locus of susceptibility maxima bends to the right in the field-temperature plane for the Ising and 2D spin-glass cases, indicating a supercritical crossover line, but bends to the left for the mean-field and 3D spin glasses - a signature of the dAT line. Finite-size scaling further suggests that the peak susceptibility diverges with system size in 3D spin glasses under a field, while saturating in 2D. These results provide direct numerical evidence for the dAT transition in 3D, supporting the replica symmetry breaking scenario.

arXiv:2601.19192•Jan 27, 2026•0 citations

Evidence of the de Almeida–Thouless transition in three-dimensional spin glasses

L. H. Miranda-Filho, Yuliang Jin

The nature of spin-glass states in a magnetic field remains a major open problem in statistical physics. The existence of the de Almeida-Thouless (dAT) transition for three-dimensional (3D) spin glasses in a field is still debated. We introduce a computational method to define the spin-glass susceptibility, which is robust against the broad tail in the overlap distribution that undermines conventional analyses. Applying this approach to the Edwards-Anderson spin-glass model in 2D and 3D, and contrasting with the 3D Ising (without disorder) and mean-field spin-glass models, we find a stark difference: the locus of susceptibility maxima bends to the right in the field-temperature plane for the Ising and 2D spin-glass cases, indicating a supercritical crossover line, but bends to the left for the mean field and 3D spin glasses-a signature of the dAT line. Finite-size scaling further suggests that the peak susceptibility diverges with system size in 3D spin glasses under a field, while saturating in 2D. These results provide direct numerical evidence for the dAT transition in 3D, supporting the replica symmetry breaking scenario.

Physical review. E•Aug 28, 2026•0 citations

Ordered Phase of Short-Range Ising Spin-Glasses

Daniel S. Fisher, David A. Huse

We propose a new picture of the Ising-spin-glass phase, based on an Ansatz for the scaling of low-lying large-scale-droplet excitations. We find behavior very different from the infinite-range model. The truncated spatial correlations decay as a power of distance, the ac nonlinear susceptibility diverges as a power of $\mathrm{ln}\ensuremath{\omega}$, and the magnetization noise power diverges as $\frac{1}{\ensuremath{\omega}}$ with logarithmic corrections. A magnetic field destroys the spin-glass phase so that there is no de Almeida-Thouless transition. Defect excitations should yield similar dynamic phenomena in vector spin-glasses.

Physical Review Letters•Apr 14, 1986•806 citations

Chaos in short-range spin glasses

Félix Ritort

The nature of static chaos in Ising spin glasses is studied. For the problem of chaos with magnetic field, scaling relations in the case of the SK model and short-range models are presented. Our results also suggest that if there is de Almeida-Thouless line then it is similar to that of mean-field theory for d=4 and close to the h=0 axis for d=3. We estimate the lower critical dimension to be in the range 2.7-2.9. Numerical studies at d=4 show that there is chaos against temperature changes dT and the correlation length diverges like 1/dT.

arXiv:cond-mat/9307065•Jul 29, 1993•1 citation
One of the central features of the mean-field theory of Ising spin glasses is the de Almeida-Thouless phase transition line in the H-T plane, where the spin-glass susceptibility χSG diverges. Contours of constant χSG in the paramagnetic phase go to high fields as T→0 in mean-field theory. In contrast, in the droplet theory for short-ranged spin glasses, χSG remains finite in a field and the contours go to H=0 as T→0. We have investigated the constant χSG contours both in the SK model and for d-dimensional short-ranged spin glasses. For the latter we use transfer matrix methods in d=1 and high-temperature expansions and Monte Carlo simulations in higher d. The results are in good accord with droplet theory for d=1 and 2. For d=3 the evidence remains ambiguous, although extrapolations of high-temperature series are qualitatively different from d=2.
We study in Ising spin glasses the finite-size effects near the spin-glass transition in zero field and at the de Almeida-Thouless transition in a field by Monte Carlo methods and by analytical approximations. In zero field, the finite-size scaling function associated with the spin-glass susceptibility of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick mean-field spin-glass model is of the same form as that of one-dimensional spin-glass models with power-law long-range interactions in the regime where they can be a proxy for the Edwards-Anderson short-range spin-glass model above the upper critical dimension. We also calculate a simple analytical approximation for the spin-glass susceptibility crossover function. The behavior of the spin-glass susceptibility near the de Almeida-Thouless transition line has also been studied, but here we have only been able to obtain analytically its behavior in the asymptotic limit above and below the transition. We have also simulated the one-dimensional system in a field in the non-mean-field regime to illustrate that when the Imry-Ma droplet length scale exceeds the system size one can then be erroneously lead to conclude that there is a de Almeida-Thouless transition even though it is absent.
We use high-temperature series expansions to study the ±J Ising spin glass in a magnetic field in d-dimensional hypercubic lattices for d=5-8 and in the infinite-range Sherrington-Kirkpatrick (SK) model. The expansions are obtained in the variable w=tanh^{2}J/T for arbitrary values of u=tanh^{2}h/T complete to order w^{10}. We find that the scaling dimension Δ associated with the ordering-field h^{2} equals 2 in the SK model and for d≥6. However, in agreement with the work of Fisher and Sompolinsky [Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 1063 (1985)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.54.1063], there is a violation of scaling in a finite field, leading to an anomalous h-T dependence of the de Almeida-Thouless (AT) [J. Phys. A 11, 983 (1978)JPHAC50305-447010.1088/0305-4470/11/5/028] line in high dimensions, whereas scaling is restored as d→6. Within the convergence of our series analysis, we present evidence supporting an AT line in d≥6. In d=5, the exponents γ and Δ are substantially larger than mean-field values, but we do not see clear evidence for the AT line in d=5.
The nature of spin-glass states in a magnetic field remains a major open problem in statistical physics. The existence of the de Almeida-Thouless (dAT) transition for three-dimensional (3D) spin glasses in a field is still debated. We introduce a new computational method to define the spin-glass susceptibility, which is robust against the broad tail in the overlap distribution that undermines conventional analyses. Applying this approach to the Edwards-Anderson spin-glass model in 2D and 3D, and contrasting with the 3D Ising (without disorder) and mean-field spin-glass models, we find a stark difference: the locus of susceptibility maxima bends to the right in the field-temperature plane for the Ising and 2D spin-glass cases, indicating a supercritical crossover line, but bends to the left for the mean-field and 3D spin glasses - a signature of the dAT line. Finite-size scaling further suggests that the peak susceptibility diverges with system size in 3D spin glasses under a field, while saturating in 2D. These results provide direct numerical evidence for the dAT transition in 3D, supporting the replica symmetry breaking scenario.
The nature of spin-glass states in a magnetic field remains a major open problem in statistical physics. The existence of the de Almeida-Thouless (dAT) transition for three-dimensional (3D) spin glasses in a field is still debated. We introduce a computational method to define the spin-glass susceptibility, which is robust against the broad tail in the overlap distribution that undermines conventional analyses. Applying this approach to the Edwards-Anderson spin-glass model in 2D and 3D, and contrasting with the 3D Ising (without disorder) and mean-field spin-glass models, we find a stark difference: the locus of susceptibility maxima bends to the right in the field-temperature plane for the Ising and 2D spin-glass cases, indicating a supercritical crossover line, but bends to the left for the mean field and 3D spin glasses-a signature of the dAT line. Finite-size scaling further suggests that the peak susceptibility diverges with system size in 3D spin glasses under a field, while saturating in 2D. These results provide direct numerical evidence for the dAT transition in 3D, supporting the replica symmetry breaking scenario.
We propose a new picture of the Ising-spin-glass phase, based on an Ansatz for the scaling of low-lying large-scale-droplet excitations. We find behavior very different from the infinite-range model. The truncated spatial correlations decay as a power of distance, the ac nonlinear susceptibility diverges as a power of $\mathrm{ln}\ensuremath{\omega}$, and the magnetization noise power diverges as $\frac{1}{\ensuremath{\omega}}$ with logarithmic corrections. A magnetic field destroys the spin-glass phase so that there is no de Almeida-Thouless transition. Defect excitations should yield similar dynamic phenomena in vector spin-glasses.
The nature of static chaos in Ising spin glasses is studied. For the problem of chaos with magnetic field, scaling relations in the case of the SK model and short-range models are presented. Our results also suggest that if there is de Almeida-Thouless line then it is similar to that of mean-field theory for d=4 and close to the h=0 axis for d=3. We estimate the lower critical dimension to be in the range 2.7-2.9. Numerical studies at d=4 show that there is chaos against temperature changes dT and the correlation length diverges like 1/dT.