Three-dimensional Ising Spin Glass Research Articles

Evidence of many thermodynamic states of the three-dimensional Ising spin glass

We present a large-scale simulation of the three-dimensional Ising spin glass with Gaussian disorder to low temperatures and large sizes using optimized population annealing Monte Carlo. Our primary focus is investigating the number of pure states regarding a controversial statistic, characterizing the fraction of centrally peaked disorder instances, of the overlap function order parameter. We observe that this statistic is subtly and sensitively influenced by the slight fluctuations of the integrated central weight of the disorder-averaged overlap function, making the asymptotic growth behaviour very difficult to identify. Modified statistics effectively reducing this correlation are studied and essentially monotonic growth trends are obtained. The effect of temperature is also studied, finding a larger growth rate at a higher temperature. Our state-of-the-art simulation and variance reduction data analysis suggest that the many pure state picture is most likely and coherent.

Feeding the multitude: A polynomial-time algorithm to improve sampling.

A wide variety of optimization techniques, both exact and heuristic, tend to be biased samplers. This means that when attempting to find multiple uncorrelated solutions of a degenerate Boolean optimization problem a subset of the solution space tends to be favored while, in the worst case, some solutions can never be accessed by the algorithm used. Here we present a simple postprocessing technique that improves sampling for any optimization approach, either quantum or classical. More precisely, starting from a pool of a few optimal configurations, the algorithm generates potentially new solutions via rejection-free cluster updates at zero temperature. Although the method is not ergodic and there is no guarantee that all the solutions can be found, fair sampling is typically improved. We illustrate the effectiveness of our method by improving the exponentially biased data produced by the D-Wave 2X quantum annealer [S. Mandrà et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 070502 (2017)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.118.070502], as well as data from three-dimensional Ising spin glasses. As part of the study, we also show that sampling is improved when suboptimal states are included and discuss sampling at a finite fixed temperature.

Number of thermodynamic states in the three-dimensional Edwards-Anderson spin glass

The question of the number of thermodynamic states present in the low-temperature phase of the three-dimensional Edwards-Anderson Ising spin glass is addressed by studying spin and link overlap distributions using population annealing Monte Carlo simulations. We consider overlaps between systems with the same boundary condition-which are the usual quantities measured-and also overlaps between systems with different boundary conditions, both for the full systems and also within a smaller window within the system. Our results appear to be fully compatible with a single pair of pure states such as in the droplet/scaling picture. However, our results for whether or not domain walls induced by changing boundary conditions are space filling or not are also compatible with scenarios having many thermodynamic states, such as the chaotic pairs picture and the replica symmetry breaking picture. The differing results for spin overlaps in same and different boundary conditions suggest that finite-size effects are very large for the system sizes currently accessible in low-temperature simulations.

Bond chaos in spin glasses revealed through thermal boundary conditions

Spin glasses have competing interactions that lead to a rough energy landscape which is highly susceptible to small perturbations. These chaotic effects strongly affect numerical simulations and, as such, gaining a deeper understanding of chaos in spin glasses is of much importance. The use of thermal boundary conditions is an effective approach to study chaotic phenomena. Here, we generalize population annealing Monte Carlo, combined with thermal boundary conditions, to study bond chaos due to small perturbations in the spin-spin couplings of the three-dimensional Edwards-Anderson Ising spin glass. We show that bond and temperature-induced chaos share the same scaling exponents and that bond chaos is stronger than temperature chaos.

Population annealing: Theory and application in spin glasses.

Population annealing is an efficient sequential Monte Carlo algorithm for simulating equilibrium states of systems with rough free-energy landscapes. The theory of population annealing is presented, and systematic and statistical errors are discussed. The behavior of the algorithm is studied in the context of large-scale simulations of the three-dimensional Ising spin glass and the performance of the algorithm is compared to parallel tempering. It is found that the two algorithms are similar in efficiency though with different strengths and weaknesses.

Chaos in spin glasses revealed through thermal boundary conditions

We study the fragility of spin glasses to small temperature perturbations numerically using population annealing Monte Carlo. We apply thermal boundary conditions to a three-dimensional Edwards-Anderson Ising spin glass. In thermal boundary conditions all eight combinations of periodic versus antiperiodic boundary conditions in the three spatial directions are present, each appearing in the ensemble with its respective statistical weight determined by its free energy. We show that temperature chaos is revealed in the statistics of crossings in the free energy for different boundary conditions. By studying the energy difference between boundary conditions at free-energy crossings, we determine the domain-wall fractal dimension. Similarly, by studying the number of crossings, we determine the chaos exponent. Our results also show that computational hardness in spin glasses and the presence of chaos are closely related.

Universal dynamic scaling in three-dimensional Ising spin glasses

We use a nonequilibrium Monte Carlo simulation method and dynamical scaling to study the phase transition in three-dimensional Ising spin glasses. The transition point is repeatedly approached at finite velocity v (temperature change versus time) in Monte Carlo simulations starting at a high temperature. This approach has the advantage that the equilibrium limit does not have to be strictly reached for a scaling analysis to yield critical exponents. For the dynamic exponent we obtain z=5.85(9) for bimodal couplings distribution and z=6.00(10) for the Gaussian case. Assuming universal dynamic scaling, we combine the two results and obtain z=5.93±0.07 for generic 3D Ising spin glasses.

Comparing Monte Carlo methods for finding ground states of Ising spin glasses: Population annealing, simulated annealing, and parallel tempering.

Population annealing is a Monte Carlo algorithm that marries features from simulated-annealing and parallel-tempering Monte Carlo. As such, it is ideal to overcome large energy barriers in the free-energy landscape while minimizing a Hamiltonian. Thus, population-annealing Monte Carlo can be used as a heuristic to solve combinatorial optimization problems. We illustrate the capabilities of population-annealing Monte Carlo by computing ground states of the three-dimensional Ising spin glass with Gaussian disorder, while comparing to simulated-annealing and parallel-tempering Monte Carlo. Our results suggest that population annealing Monte Carlo is significantly more efficient than simulated annealing but comparable to parallel-tempering Monte Carlo for finding spin-glass ground states.

Measuring free energy in spin-lattice models using parallel tempering Monte Carlo.

An efficient and simple approach of measuring the absolute free energy as a function of temperature for spin lattice models using a two-stage parallel tempering Monte Carlo and the free energy perturbation method is discussed and the results are compared with those of population annealing Monte Carlo using the three-dimensional Edwards-Anderson Ising spin glass model as benchmark tests. This approach requires little modification of regular parallel tempering Monte Carlo codes with also little overhead. Numerical results show that parallel tempering, even though using a much less number of temperatures than population annealing, can nevertheless equally efficiently measure the absolute free energy by simulating each temperature for longer times.

Nonequilibrium evolution of window overlaps in spin glasses

We investigate numerically the time dependence of "window" overlaps in a three-dimensional Ising spin glass below its transition temperature after a rapid quench. Using an efficient GPU implementation, we are able to study large systems up to lateral length $L=128$ and up to long times of $t=10^8$ sweeps. We find that the data scales according to the ratio of the window size $W$ to the non-equilibrium coherence length $\xi(t)$. We also show a substantial change in behavior if the system is run for long enough that it globally equilibrates, i.e. $\xi(t) \approx L/2$, where $L$ is the lattice size. This indicates that the local behavior of a spin glass depends on the spin configurations (and presumably also the bonds) far away. We compare with similar simulations for the Ising ferromagnet. Based on these results, we speculate on a connection between the non-equilibrium dynamics discussed here and averages computed theoretically using the "metastate".

Evidence against a mean-field description of short-range spin glasses revealed through thermal boundary conditions

A theoretical description of the low-temperature phase of short-range spin glasses has remained elusive for decades. In particular, it is unclear if theories that assert a single pair of pure states, or theories that are based on infinitely many pure states---such as replica symmetry breaking---best describe realistic short-range systems. To resolve this controversy, the three-dimensional Edwards-Anderson Ising spin glass in thermal boundary conditions is studied numerically using population annealing Monte Carlo. In thermal boundary conditions all eight combinations of periodic vs antiperiodic boundary conditions in the three spatial directions appear in the ensemble with their respective Boltzmann weights, thus minimizing finite-size corrections due to domain walls. From the relative weighting of the eight boundary conditions for each disorder instance a sample stiffness is defined, and its typical value is shown to grow with system size according to a stiffness exponent. An extrapolation to the large-system-size limit is in agreement with a description that supports the droplet picture and other theories that assert a single pair of pure states. The results are, however, incompatible with the mean-field replica symmetry breaking picture, thus highlighting the need to go beyond mean-field descriptions to accurately describe short-range spin-glass systems.

The three-dimensional Ising spin glass in an external magnetic field: the role of the silent majority

We perform equilibrium parallel-tempering simulations of the 3D Ising Edwards–Anderson spin glass in a field, using the Janus computer. A traditional analysis shows no signs of a phase transition. However, we encounter dramatic fluctuations in the behaviour of the model: averages over all the data only describe the behaviour of a small fraction of the data. Therefore, we develop a new approach to study the equilibrium behaviour of the system, by classifying the measurements as a function of a conditioning variate. We propose a finite-size scaling analysis based on the probability distribution function of the conditioning variate, which may accelerate the convergence to the thermodynamic limit. In this way, we find a non-trivial spectrum of behaviours, where some of the measurements behave as the average, while the majority show signs of scale invariance. As a result, we can estimate the temperature interval where the phase transition in a field ought to lie, if it exists. Although this would-be critical regime is unreachable with present resources, the numerical challenge is finally well posed.

Dynamical transition in the D=3 Edwards-Anderson spin glass in an external magnetic field.

We study the off-equilibrium dynamics of the three-dimensional Ising spin glass in the presence of an external magnetic field. We have performed simulations both at fixed temperature and with an annealing protocol. Thanks to the Janus special-purpose computer, based on field-programmable gate array (FPGAs), we have been able to reach times equivalent to 0.01 s in experiments. We have studied the system relaxation both for high and for low temperatures, clearly identifying a dynamical transition point. This dynamical temperature is strictly positive and depends on the external applied magnetic field. We discuss different possibilities for the underlying physics, which include a thermodynamical spin-glass transition, a mode-coupling crossover, or an interpretation reminiscent of the random first-order picture of structural glasses.

Correlations between the dynamics of parallel tempering and the free-energy landscape in spin glasses

We present the results of a large-scale numerical study of the equilibrium three-dimensional Edwards-Anderson Ising spin glass with Gaussian disorder. Using parallel tempering (replica exchange) Monte Carlo we measure various static, as well as dynamical quantities, such as the autocorrelation times and round-trip times for the parallel tempering Monte Carlo method. The correlation between static and dynamic observables for 5000 disorder realizations and up to 1000 spins down to temperatures at 20% of the critical temperature is examined. Our results show that autocorrelation times are directly correlated with the roughness of the free-energy landscape.

Domain growth and aging scaling in coarsening disordered systems

Using extensive Monte Carlo simulations we study aging properties of two disordered systems quenched below their critical point, namely the two-dimensional random-bond Ising model and the three-dimensional Edwards-Anderson Ising spin glass with a bimodal distribution of the coupling constants. We study the two-times autocorrelation and space-time correlation functions and show that in both systems a simple aging scenario prevails in terms of the scaling variable L(t)/L(s), where L is the time-dependent correlation length, whereas s is the waiting time and t is the observation time. The investigation of the space-time correlation function for the random-bond Ising model allows us to address some issues related to superuniversality.

Ferromagnetic-glassy transitions in three-dimensional Ising spin glasses

We investigate the ferromagnetic-glassy transitions that separate the low-temperature ferromagnetic and spin-glass phases in the temperature-disorder phase diagram of three-dimensional Ising spin-glass models. For this purpose, we consider the cubic-lattice $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}J$ (Edwards-Anderson) Ising model with bond distribution $P(J)=p\ensuremath{\delta}(J\ensuremath{-}1)+(1\ensuremath{-}p)\ensuremath{\delta}(J+1)$, and present a numerical Monte Carlo study of the critical behavior along the line that marks the onset of ferromagnetism. The finite-size scaling analysis of the Monte Carlo data shows that the ferromagnetic-glassy transition line is slightly reentrant. As a consequence, for an interval of the disorder parameter $p$, around $p\ensuremath{\approx}0.77$, the system presents a low-temperature glassy phase, an intermediate ferromagnetic phase, and a high-temperature paramagnetic phase. Along the ferromagnetic-glassy transition line, magnetic correlations show a universal critical behavior with critical exponents $\ensuremath{\nu}=0.96(2)$ and $\ensuremath{\eta}=\ensuremath{-}0.39(2)$. The hyperscaling relation $\ensuremath{\beta}/\ensuremath{\nu}=(1+\ensuremath{\eta})/2$ is satisfied at the transitions, so that $\ensuremath{\beta}/\ensuremath{\nu}=0.305(10)$. This magnetic critical behavior represents a new universality class for ferromagnetic transitions in Ising-type disordered systems. Overlap correlations are apparently not critical and show a smooth behavior across the transition.

Dynamic properties of spin cluster glass and the exchange bias effect inBiFeO3 nanocrystals

A spin cluster glass behavior and a complicated exchange bias effect are observed in high qualityBiFeO3 nanocrystals grown by a hydrothermal method. The dynamic properties of the spin clustersinvestigated by measuring the frequency dependences of ac susceptibility show that therelaxation process can be described using a power law with the glass transition temperatureTg = 57 K, relaxation timeconstant τ0 = 4.4 × 10 − 10 s, andcritical exponent zv = 10.3 ± 1.9, consistent with a three-dimensional Ising spin glass. The exchange bias field (HEB) varies non-monotonically with temperature and achieves a minimum atTg. The abnormal shift of hysteresis loops aboveTg may be interpreted in terms of a Malozemoff’s random-field model with a framework ofantiferromagnetic core/spin-cluster shell structure and a two-dimensional dilutedantiferromagnet in a field (2D-DAFF) model, respectively. The exchange anisotropy of theBiFeO3 nanocrystals will shed light on a possible application for magnetism related nanosizeddevices.

Universality in three-dimensional Ising spin glasses: Nonequilibrium dynamics from Monte Carlo simulations

The nonequilibrium dynamics of the three-dimensional Edwards-Anderson spin-glass model with different bond distributions is investigated by means of Monte Carlo simulation. A numerical method is used to determine the critical temperature and the scaling exponents of the correlation and the integrated response functions. The results obtained agree with those calculated in equilibrium simulations and suggest that the universality class does not depend on the exact form of the bond distribution.

Accelerated stochastic sampling of discrete statistical systems

We propose a method to reduce the relaxation time toward equilibrium in stochastic sampling of complex energy landscapes in statistical systems with discrete degrees of freedom by generalizing the platform previously developed for continuous systems. The method starts from a master equation, in contrast to the Fokker-Planck equation for the continuous case. The master equation is transformed into an imaginary-time Schrödinger equation. The Hamiltonian of the Schrödinger equation is modified by adding a projector to its known ground state. We show how this transformation decreases the relaxation time and propose a way to use it to accelerate simulated annealing for optimization problems. We implement our method in a simplified kinetic Monte Carlo scheme and show acceleration by one order of magnitude in simulated annealing of the symmetric traveling salesman problem. Comparisons of simulated annealing are made with the exchange Monte Carlo algorithm for the three-dimensional Ising spin glass. Our implementation can be seen as a step toward accelerating the stochastic sampling of generic systems with complex landscapes and long equilibration times.

Nature of the spin-glass phase at experimental length scales

We present a massive equilibrium simulation of the three-dimensional Ising spin glass at low temperatures.The Janus special-purpose computer has allowed us to equilibrate, using parallel tempering,L = 32 latticesdown to T ≈ 0.64Tc. We demonstrate the relevance of equilibrium finite size simulations to understandingexperimental non-equilibrium spin glasses in the thermodynamical limit byestablishing a time-length dictionary. We conclude that non-equilibrium experimentsperformed on a timescale of 1 h can be matched with equilibrium results onL ≈ 110 lattices. A detailed investigation of the probability distribution functions of the spin andlink overlap, as well as of their correlation functions, shows that Replica SymmetryBreaking is the appropriate theoretical framework for the physically relevant length scales.Besides, we improve over existing methodologies in ensuring equilibration in paralleltempering simulations.