The dynamical properties of a simple model of a spin glass are studied. The model has Gaussian random exchange interactions and Langevin dynamics. Following the ideas of Ma and Rudnick (1978) and of De Dominicis (1978), the spin glass phase is characterised by the presence of a finite limit of the spin autocorrelation function as t to infinity , i.e. by a delta-function part of it Fourier transform C( omega ). With a finite system in mind, this delta function is taken to have a small finite width. Then the fluctuation-dissipation theorem is imposed (before the infinite volume limit), forcing a corresponding low-frequency anomaly on the dynamical susceptibility. Solving self-consistently in mean-field theory for the order parameter, one then finds that the Almeida-Thouless instability of conventional theories is suppressed for all times shorter than the inverse width of the delta function in C( omega ). This theory is constructed for exactly zero external field; problems about the field dependence and possible relevance to experiment are discussed.
Langevin equations for the relaxation of spin fluctuations in a soft-spin version of the Edwards-Anderson model are used as a starting point for the study of the dynamic and static properties of spin-glasses. An exact uniform Lagrangian for the average dynamic correlation and response functions is derived for arbitrary range of random exchange, using a functional-integral method proposed by De Dominicis. The properties of the Lagrangian are studied in the mean-field limit which is realized by considering an infinite-ranged random exchange. In this limit, the dynamics are represented by a stochastic equation of motion of a single spin with self-consistent (bare) propagator and Gaussian noise. The low-frequency and the static properties of this equation are studied both above and below
Tc. Approaching
Tc from above, spin fluctuations slow down with a relaxation time proportional to ${|T\ensuremath{-}{T}_{c}|}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ whereas at
Tc the damping function vanishes as ${\ensuremath{\omega}}^{\frac{1}{2}}$. We derive a criterion for dynamic stability below
Tc. It is shown that a stable solution necessarily violates the fluctuation-dissipation theorem below
Tc. Consequently, the spin-glass order parameters are the time-persistent terms which appear in both the spin correlations and the local response. This is shown to invalidate the treatment of the spin-glass order parameters as purely static quantities. Instead, one has to specify the manner in which they relax in a finite system, along time scales which diverge in the thermodynamic limit. We show that the finite-time correlations decay algebraically with time as ${t}^{\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\nu}}$ at all temperatures below
Tc, with a temperature-dependent exponent $\ensuremath{\nu}$. Near
Tc, $\ensuremath{\nu}$ is given (in the Ising case) as $\ensuremath{\nu}(T)\ensuremath{\sim}\frac{1}{2}\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}(\frac{1\ensuremath{-}T}{{T}_{c}})+\ensuremath{\sigma}{(\frac{1\ensuremath{-}T}{{T}_{c}})}^{2}$. A tentative calculation of $\ensuremath{\nu}$ at
T=0 K is presented. We briefly discuss the physical origin of the violation of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem.
Langevin equations for the relaxation of spin fluctuations in a soft-spin version of the Edwards-Anderson model are used as a starting point for the study of the dynamic and static properties of spin-glasses. An exact uniform Lagrangian for the average dynamic correlation and response functions is derived for arbitrary range of random exchange, using a functional-integral method proposed by De Dominicis. The properties of the Lagrangian are studied in the mean-field limit which is realized by considering an infinite-ranged random exchange. In this limit, the dynamics are represented by a stochastic equation of motion of a single spin with self-consistent (bare) propagator and Gaussian noise. The low-frequency and the static properties of this equation are studied both above and below
Tc. Approaching
Tc from above, spin fluctuations slow down with a relaxation time proportional to ${|T\ensuremath{-}{T}_{c}|}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ whereas at
Tc the damping function vanishes as ${\ensuremath{\omega}}^{\frac{1}{2}}$. We derive a criterion for dynamic stability below
Tc. It is shown that a stable solution necessarily violates the fluctuation-dissipation theorem below
Tc. Consequently, the spin-glass order parameters are the time-persistent terms which appear in both the spin correlations and the local response. This is shown to invalidate the treatment of the spin-glass order parameters as purely static quantities. Instead, one has to specify the manner in which they relax in a finite system, along time scales which diverge in the thermodynamic limit. We show that the finite-time correlations decay algebraically with time as ${t}^{\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\nu}}$ at all temperatures below
Tc, with a temperature-dependent exponent $\ensuremath{\nu}$. Near
Tc, $\ensuremath{\nu}$ is given (in the Ising case) as $\ensuremath{\nu}(T)\ensuremath{\sim}\frac{1}{2}\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}(\frac{1\ensuremath{-}T}{{T}_{c}})+\ensuremath{\sigma}{(\frac{1\ensuremath{-}T}{{T}_{c}})}^{2}$. A tentative calculation of $\ensuremath{\nu}$ at
T=0 K is presented. We briefly discuss the physical origin of the violation of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem.
We examine spin dynamics just above a spin-glass transition for two classical soft-spin models with random exchange interactions. The statics of the two models are identical; in mean-field theory we find an Edwards-Anderson transition of the usual sort. The dynamics are described by Langevin equations: in one case we use a purely dissipative equation of motion for a nonconserved scalar spin, while in the other we include a "mode-coupling" term to describe the precession of a vector spin in the field of its neighbors and impose conservation of the total spin. In the first case we find critical slowing down as the transition at
Tg is approached from above (and ${t}^{\ensuremath{-}\frac{1}{2}}$ tails below
Tg), in agreement with the result of Ma and Rudnick for a different model. In the second case, we find a divergent spin-diffusion constant: $D\ensuremath{\propto}{(T\ensuremath{-}{T}_{g})}^{\ensuremath{-}\frac{1}{2}}$ (
d>4) and $D\ensuremath{\propto}{(T\ensuremath{-}{T}_{g})}^{\frac{2}{d}\ensuremath{-}1}$ (
2<d<4), in agreement with our previous calculation for a mode-coupling version of the Ma-Rudnick model.
A class of infinite-ranged random model Hamiltonians is defined as a limiting case in which the appropriate form of mean-field theory, order parameters and phase diagram to describe spin-glasses may be established. It is believed that these Hamiltonians may be exactly soluble, although a complete solution is not yet available. Thermodynamic properties of the model for Ising and
XY spins are evaluated using a many-replica procedure. Results of the replica theory reproduce properties at and above the ordering temperature which are also predicted by high-temperature expansions, but are in error at low temperatures. Extensive computer simulations of infinite-ranged Ising spin-glasses are presented. They confirm the general details of the predicted phase diagram. The errors in the replica solution are found to be small, and confined to low temperatures. For this model, the extended mean-field theory of Thouless, Anderson, and Palmer gives physically sensible low-temperature predictions. These are in quantitative agreement with the Monte Carlo statics. The dynamics of the infinite-ranged Ising spin-glass are studied in a linearized mean-field theory. Critical slowing down is predicted and found, with correlations decaying as ${e}^{{\ensuremath{-}[\frac{(T\ensuremath{-}{T}_{c})}{T}]}^{2}t}$ for
T greater than
Tc, the spin-glass transition temperature. At and below
Tc, spin-spin correlations are observed to decay to their long-time limit as ${t}^{\ensuremath{-}\frac{1}{2}}$.