The infinite-range clock spin glass model: an investigation of the relevance of reflection symmetry

Abstract

The infinite-range S-state clock spin glass model is investigated by means of a Landau expansion. Within the replica symmetric theory a second-order phase transition is found for all values of S. By applying replica symmetry-breaking theory it is shown that although the S=3 case has the peculiar behaviour already observed for Potts models, the absence of reflection symmetry is qualitatively irrelevant for all other odd-state clock glasses. For S<or=5 this model is in the same class as the xy spin glass.