arXiv:1607.04217cond-mat.stat-mech
Nontrivial critical fixed point for replica-symmetry-breaking transitions
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Abstract
The transformation of the free-energy landscape from smooth to hierarchical is one of the richest features of mean-field disordered systems. A well-studied example is the de Almeida-Thouless transition for spin glasses in a magnetic field, and a similar phenomenon--the Gardner transition--has recently been predicted for structural glasses. The existence of these replica-symmetry-breaking phase transitions has, however, long been questioned below their upper critical dimension, d_u=6. Here, we obtain evidence for the existence of these transitions in d<d_u using a two-loop calculation. Because the critical fixed point is found in the strong-coupling regime, we corroborate the result by resumming the perturbative series with inputs from a three-loop calculation and an analysis of its large-order behavior. Our study offers a resolution of the long-lasting controversy surrounding phase transitions in finite-dimensional disordered systems.
Here's the preprint of the article in Phys. Rev. Lett. that this is a press release for. Note that it's been on arXiv for almost a year now. Also note PRLs are brief and not very detailed, so it should be readable for physicists not working in this particular field.…
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