arXiv subjects

B. Seoane

Publications and source records attributed to B. Seoane.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Spin glasses, the quantum annealing, colloidal glasses and crystals: exploring complex free-energy landscapes

Glassy behavior is one of the main open problems in condensed matter physics. In this thesis, we approach the problem by studying spin-glasses and colloids, using several complementary strategies. From the point of view of model building, we propose a new model, the hypercube model, which is mean-field but defined in a metric space. We show that, also in Mean Field, the spin-glass non-equilibrium dynamics is a domain-growth process very similar to its three-dimensional counterpart. We also consider spin-glasses in three spatial dimensions, focusing on temperature chaos. Thanks to the low-temperature configurations equilibrated with Janus, we show that temperature chaos can be aptly described through a large-deviations functional. The finite-size scaling behavior can be predicted in details from this functional, including the pre-asymptotic regime where chaos is driven by rare events. We also address the problem of finding new, efficient algorithms to study glassy systems. In particular, in the context of the Quantum-Adiabatic algorithm we discuss strategies for bypassing the "first-order bottleneck". Our approach is successfully put to work on the p-spin ferromagnetic model. We also show how to use tethered Monte Carlo (a recent refinement of Umbrella Sampling) to handle problems with more than one order parameter, such as hard-spheres crystallization. We study the crystallization transition equilibrating the largest systems to date, and obtaining very accurate determinations of the coexistence pressure and the interfacial free-energy. We also show our efforts to characterize the solid phase in a system of soft spheres at very high polydispersity.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2012

Reconfigurable computing for Monte Carlo simulations: results and prospects of the Janus project

We describe Janus, a massively parallel FPGA-based computer optimized for the simulation of spin glasses, theoretical models for the behavior of glassy materials. FPGAs (as compared to GPUs or many-core processors) provide a complementary approach to massively parallel computing. In particular, our model problem is formulated in terms of binary variables, and floating-point operations can be (almost) completely avoided. The FPGA architecture allows us to run many independent threads with almost no latencies in memory access, thus updating up to 1024 spins per cycle. We describe Janus in detail and we summarize the physics results obtained in four years of operation of this machine; we discuss two types of physics applications: long simulations on very large systems (which try to mimic and provide understanding about the experimental non-equilibrium dynamics), and low-temperature equilibrium simulations using an artificial parallel tempering dynamics. The time scale of our non-equilibrium simulations spans eleven orders of magnitude (from picoseconds to a tenth of a second). On the other hand, our equilibrium simulations are unprecedented both because of the low temperatures reached and for the large systems that we have brought to equilibrium. A finite-time scaling ansatz emerges from the detailed comparison of the two sets of simulations. Janus has made it possible to perform spin-glass simulations that would take several decades on more conventional architectures. The paper ends with an assessment of the potential of possible future versions of the Janus architecture, based on state-of-the-art technology.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2012

Equilibrium fluid-solid coexistence of hard spheres

We present a tethered Monte Carlo simulation of the crystallization of hard spheres. Our method boosts the traditional umbrella sampling to the point of making practical the study of constrained Gibb's free energies depending on several crystalline order-parameters. We obtain high-accuracy estimates of the fluid-crystal coexistence pressure for up to 2916 particles (enough to accommodate fluid-solid interfaces). We are able to extrapolate to infinite volume the coexistence pressure (p_{co}=11.5727(10) k_B T/σ^3) and the interfacial free energy (γ_{100}=0.636(11) k_B T/σ^2).

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2012

Thermodynamic glass transition in a spin glass without time-reversal symmetry

Spin glasses are a longstanding model for the sluggish dynamics that appears at the glass transition. However, spin glasses differ from structural glasses for a crucial feature: they enjoy a time reversal symmetry. This symmetry can be broken by applying an external magnetic field, but embarrassingly little is known about the critical behaviour of a spin glass in a field. In this context, the space dimension is crucial. Simulations are easier to interpret in a large number of dimensions, but one must work below the upper critical dimension (i.e., in d<6) in order for results to have relevance for experiments. Here we show conclusive evidence for the presence of a phase transition in a four-dimensional spin glass in a field. Two ingredients were crucial for this achievement: massive numerical simulations were carried out on the Janus special-purpose computer, and a new and powerful finite-size scaling method.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2011

Sample-to-sample fluctuations of the overlap distributions in the three-dimensional Edwards-Anderson spin glass

We study the sample-to-sample fluctuations of the overlap probability densities from large-scale equilibrium simulations of the three-dimensional Edwards-Anderson spin glass below the critical temperature. Ultrametricity, Stochastic Stability and Overlap Equivalence impose constraints on the moments of the overlap probability densities that can be tested against numerical data. We found small deviations from the Ghirlanda-Guerra predictions, which get smaller as system size increases. We also focus on the shape of the overlap distribution, comparing the numerical data to a mean-field-like prediction in which finite-size effects are taken into account by substituting delta functions with broad peaks

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2011

Tethered Monte Carlo: Managing rugged free-energy landscapes with a Helmholtz-potential formalism

Tethering methods allow us to perform Monte Carlo simulations in ensembles with conserved quantities. Specifically, one couples a reservoir to the physical magnitude of interest, and studies the statistical ensemble where the total magnitude (system+reservoir) is conserved. The reservoir is actually integrated out, which leaves us with a fluctuation-dissipation formalism that allows us to recover the appropriate Helmholtz effective potential with great accuracy. These methods are demonstrating a remarkable flexibility. In fact, we illustrate two very different applications: hard spheres crystallization and the phase transition of the diluted antiferromagnet in a field (the physical realization of the random field Ising model). The tethered approach holds the promise to transform cartoon drawings of corrugated free-energy landscapes into real computations. Besides, it reduces the algorithmic dynamic slowing-down, probably because the conservation law holds non-locally.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2010

Static versus dynamic heterogeneities in the D = 3 Edwards-Anderson-Ising spin glass

We numerically study the aging properties of the dynamical heterogeneities in the Ising spin glass. We find that a phase transition takes place during the aging process. Statics-dynamics correspondence implies that systems of finite size in equilibrium have static heterogeneities that obey Finite-Size Scaling, thus signaling an analogous phase transition in the thermodynamical limit. We compute the critical exponents and the transition point in the equilibrium setting, and use them to show that aging in dynamic heterogeneities can be described by a Finite-Time Scaling Ansatz, with potential implications for experimental work.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2010

Separation and fractionation of order and disorder in highly polydisperse systems

Microcanonical Monte Carlo simulations of a polydisperse soft-spheres model for liquids and colloids have been performed for very large polydispersity, in the region where a phase-separation is known to occur when the system (or part of it) solidifies. By studying samples of different sizes, from N=256 to N=864, we focus on the nature of the two distinct coexisting phases. Measurements of crystalline order in particles of different size reveal that the solid phase segregates between a crystalline solid with cubic symmetry and a disordered phase. This phenomenon is termed fractionation.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2010

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 lattices down to T=0.64 Tc. We demonstrate the relevance of equilibrium finite-size simulations to understand experimental non-equilibrium spin glasses in the thermodynamical limit by establishing a time-length dictionary. We conclude that non-equilibrium experiments performed on a time scale of one hour can be matched with equilibrium results on L=110 lattices. A detailed investigation of the probability distribution functions of the spin and link overlap, as well as of their correlation functions, shows that Replica Symmetry Breaking is the appropriate theoretical framework for the physically relevant length scales. Besides, we improve over existing methodologies to ensure equilibration in parallel tempering simulations.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2010

Critical Behavior of Three-Dimensional Disordered Potts Models with Many States

We study the 3D Disordered Potts Model with p=5 and p=6. Our numerical simulations (that severely slow down for increasing p) detect a very clear spin glass phase transition. We evaluate the critical exponents and the critical value of the temperature, and we use known results at lower $p$ values to discuss how they evolve for increasing p. We do not find any sign of the presence of a transition to a ferromagnetic regime.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2009

Spin Glasses on the Hypercube

We present a mean field model for spin glasses with a natural notion of distance built in, namely, the Edwards-Anderson model on the diluted D-dimensional unit hypercube in the limit of large D. We show that finite D effects are strongly dependent on the connectivity, being much smaller for a fixed coordination number. We solve the non trivial problem of generating these lattices. Afterwards, we numerically study the nonequilibrium dynamics of the mean field spin glass. Our three main findings are: (i) the dynamics is ruled by an infinite number of time-sectors, (ii) the aging dynamics consists on the growth of coherent domains with a non vanishing surface-volume ratio, and (iii) the propagator in Fourier space follows the p^4 law. We study as well finite D effects in the nonequilibrium dynamics, finding that a naive finite size scaling ansatz works surprisingly well.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗