arXiv subjects

L. A. Fernandez

Publications and source records attributed to L. A. Fernandez.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Microcanonical simulated annealing: Massively parallel Monte Carlo simulations with sporadic random-number generation

Numerical simulations of models and theories that describe complex systems such as spin glasses are becoming increasingly important. Beyond fundamental research, these computational methods also find practical applications in fields like combinatorial optimization. However, Monte Carlo simulations, an important subcategory of these methods, are plagued by a major drawback: they are extremely greedy for (pseudo) random numbers. The total fraction of computer time dedicated to random-number generation increases as the hardware grows more sophisticated, and can get prohibitive for special-purpose computing platforms. We propose here a general-purpose microcanonical simulated annealing (MicSA) formalism that dramatically reduces such a burden. The algorithm is fully adapted to a massively parallel computation, as we show in the particularly demanding benchmark of the three-dimensional Ising spin glass. We carry out very stringent numerical tests of the new algorithm by comparing our results, obtained on GPUs, with high-precision standard (i.e., random-number-greedy) simulations performed on the Janus II custom-built supercomputer. In those cases where thermal equilibrium is reachable (i.e., in the paramagnetic phase), both simulations reach compatible values. More significantly, barring short-time corrections, a simple time rescaling suffices to map the MicSA off-equilibrium dynamics onto the results obtained with standard simulations.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2025

Quantifying memory in spin glasses

Rejuvenation and memory, long considered the distinguishing features of spin glasses, have recently been proven to result from the growth of multiple length scales. This insight, enabled by simulations on the Janus~II supercomputer, has opened the door to a quantitative analysis. We combine numerical simulations with comparable experiments to introduce two coefficients that quantify memory. A third coefficient has been recently presented by Freedberg et al. We show that these coefficients are physically equivalent by studying their temperature and waiting-time dependence.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2024

Phase transition in the computational complexity of the shortest common superstring and genome assembly

Genome assembly, the process of reconstructing a long genetic sequence by aligning and merging short fragments, or reads, is known to be NP-hard, either as a version of the shortest common superstring problem or in a Hamiltonian-cycle formulation. That is, the computing time is believed to grow exponentially with the the problem size in the worst case. Despite this fact, high-throughput technologies and modern algorithms currently allow bioinformaticians to handle datasets of billions of reads. Using methods from statistical mechanics, we address this conundrum by demonstrating the existence of a phase transition in the computational complexity of the problem and showing that practical instances always fall in the 'easy' phase (solvable by polynomial-time algorithms). In addition, we propose a Markov-chain Monte Carlo method that outperforms common deterministic algorithms in the hard regime.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2024

Multifractality in spin glasses

We unveil the multifractal behavior of Ising spin glasses in their low-temperature phase. Using the Janus II custom-built supercomputer, the spin-glass correlation function is studied locally. Dramatic fluctuations are found when pairs of sites at the same distance are compared. The scaling of these fluctuations, as the spin-glass coherence length grows with time, is characterized through the computation of the singularity spectrum and its corresponding Legendre transform. A comparatively small number of site pairs controls the average correlation that governs the response to a magnetic field. We explain how this scenario of dramatic fluctuations (at length scales smaller than the coherence length) can be reconciled with the smooth, self-averaging behavior that has long been considered to describe spin-glass dynamics.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2023

On the superposition principle and non-linear response in spin glasses

The extended principle of superposition has been a touchstone of spin glass dynamics for almost thirty years. The Uppsala group has demonstrated its validity for the metallic spin glass, CuMn, for magnetic fields $H$ up to 10 Oe at the reduced temperature $T_\mathrm{r}=T/T_\mathrm{g} = 0.95$, where $T_\mathrm{g}$ is the spin glass condensation temperature. For $H > 10$ Oe, they observe a departure from linear response which they ascribe to the development of non-linear dynamics. The thrust of this paper is to develop a microscopic origin for this behavior by focusing on the time development of the spin glass correlation length, $ξ(t,t_\mathrm{w};H)$. Here, $t$ is the time after $H$ changes, and $t_\mathrm{w}$ is the time from the quench for $T>T_\mathrm{g}$ to the working temperature $T$ until $H$ changes. We connect the growth of $ξ(t,t_\mathrm{w};H)$ to the barrier heights $Δ(t_\mathrm{w})$ that set the dynamics. The effect of $H$ on the magnitude of $Δ(t_\mathrm{w})$ is responsible for affecting differently the two dynamical protocols associated with turning $H$ off (TRM, or thermoremanent magnetization) or on (ZFC, or zero field-cooled magnetization). In this paper, we display the difference between the zero-field cooled $ξ_{\text {ZFC}}(t,t_\mathrm{w};H)$ and the thermoremanent magnetization $ξ_{\text {TRM}}(t,t_\mathrm{w};H)$ correlation lengths as $H$ increases, both experimentally and through numerical simulations, corresponding to the violation of the extended principle of superposition in line with the finding of the Uppsala Group.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2022

Memory and rejuvenation in spin glasses: aging systems are ruled by more than one length scale

Memory and rejuvenation effects in the magnetic response of off-equilibrium spin glasses have been widely regarded as the doorway into the experimental exploration of ultrametricity and temperature chaos (maybe the most exotic features in glassy free-energy landscapes). Unfortunately, despite more than twenty years of theoretical efforts following the experimental discovery of memory and rejuvenation, these effects have thus far been impossible to simulate reliably. Yet, three recent developments convinced us to accept this challenge: first, the custom-built Janus II supercomputer makes it possible to carry out "numerical experiments" in which the very same quantities that can be measured in single crystals of CuMn are computed from the simulation, allowing for parallel analysis of the simulation/experiment data. Second, Janus II simulations have taught us how numerical and experimental length scales should be compared. Third, we have recently understood how temperature chaos materializes in aging dynamics. All three aspects have proved crucial for reliably reproducing rejuvenation and memory effects on the computer. Our analysis shows that (at least) three different length scales play a key role in aging dynamics, while essentially all theoretical analyses of the aging dynamics emphasize the presence and the crucial role of a single glassy correlation length.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2022

Numerical test of the replica-symmetric Hamiltonian for the correlations of the critical state of spin glasses in a field

A growing body of evidence indicates that the sluggish low-temperature dynamics of glass formers (e.g. supercooled liquids, colloids or spin glasses) is due to a growing correlation length. Which is the effective field theory that describes these correlations? The natural field theory was drastically simplified by Bray and Roberts in 1980. More than forty years later, we confirm the tenets of Bray and Roberts theory by studying the Ising spin glass in an externally applied magnetic field, both in four spatial dimensions (data obtained from the Janus collaboration) and on the Bethe lattice.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2021

Temperature chaos is present in off-equilibrium spin-glass dynamics

We find a dynamic effect in the non-equilibrium dynamics of a spin glass that closely parallels equilibrium temperature chaos. This effect, that we name dynamic temperature chaos, is spatially heterogeneous to a large degree. The key controlling quantity is the time-growing spin-glass coherence length. Our detailed characterization of dynamic temperature chaos paves the way for the analysis of recent and forthcoming experiments. This work has been made possible thanks to the most massive simulation to date of non-equilibrium dynamics, carried out on the Janus~II custom-built supercomputer.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2021

Spin-glass dynamics in the presence of a magnetic field: exploration of microscopic properties

The synergy between experiment, theory, and simulations enables a microscopic analysis of spin-glass dynamics in a magnetic field in the vicinity of and below the spin-glass transition temperature $T_\mathrm{g}$. The spin-glass correlation length, $ξ(t,t_\mathrm{w};T)$, is analysed both in experiments and in simulations in terms of the waiting time $t_\mathrm{w}$ after the spin glass has been cooled down to a stabilised measuring temperature $T<T_\mathrm{g}$ and of the time $t$ after the magnetic field is changed. This correlation length is extracted experimentally for a CuMn 6 at. % single crystal, as well as for simulations on the Janus II special-purpose supercomputer, the latter with time and length scales comparable to experiment. The non-linear magnetic susceptibility is reported from experiment and simulations, using $ξ(t,t_\mathrm{w};T)$ as the scaling variable. Previous experiments are reanalysed, and disagreements about the nature of the Zeeman energy are resolved. The growth of the spin-glass magnetisation in zero-field magnetisation experiments, $M_\mathrm{ZFC}(t,t_\mathrm{w};T)$, is measured from simulations, verifying the scaling relationships in the dynamical or non-equilibrium regime. Our preliminary search for the de Almeida-Thouless line in $D=3$ is discussed.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2020

Scaling law describes the spin-glass response in theory, experiments and simulations

The correlation length $ξ$, a key quantity in glassy dynamics, can now be precisely measured for spin glasses both in experiments and in simulations. However, known analysis methods lead to discrepancies either for large external fields or close to the glass temperature. We solve this problem by introducing a scaling law that takes into account both the magnetic field and the time-dependent spin-glass correlation length. The scaling law is successfully tested against experimental measurements in a CuMn single crystal and against large-scale simulations on the Janus II dedicated computer.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2020

Dimensional crossover in the aging dynamics of spin glasses in a film geometry

Motivated by recent experiments of exceptional accuracy, we study numerically the spin-glass dynamics in a film geometry. We cover all the relevant time regimes, from picoseconds to equilibrium, at temperatures at and below the 3D critical point. The dimensional crossover from 3D to 2D dynamics, that starts when the correlation length becomes comparable to the film thickness, consists of four dynamical regimes. Our analysis, based on a Renormalization Group transformation, finds consistent the overall physical picture employed by Orbach et al. in the interpretation of their experiments.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2019

The Mpemba effect in spin glasses is a persistent memory effect

The Mpemba effect occurs when a hot system cools faster than an initially colder one, when both are refrigerated in the same thermal reservoir. Using the custom built supercomputer Janus II, we study the Mpemba effect in spin glasses and show that it is a non-equilibrium process, governed by the coherence length ξof the system. The effect occurs when the bath temperature lies in the glassy phase, but it is not necessary for the thermal protocol to cross the critical temperature. In fact, the Mpemba effect follows from a strong relationship between the internal energy and ξthat turns out to be a sure-tell sign of being in the glassy phase. Thus, the Mpemba effect presents itself as an intriguing new avenue for the experimental study of the coherence length in supercooled liquids and other glass formers.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2019

An experiment-oriented analysis of 2D spin-glass dynamics: a twelve time-decades scaling study

Recent high precision experimental results on spin-glass films ask for a detailed understanding of the domain-growth dynamics of two-dimensional spin glasses. To achieve this goal, we numerically simulate the out-equilibrium dynamics of the Ising spin glass for a time that spans close to twelve orders of magnitude (from picoseconds to order of a second), in systems large enough to avoid finite-size effects. We find that the time-growth of the size of the glassy domains is excellently described by a single scaling function. A single time-scale $τ(T)$ controls the dynamics. $τ(T)$ diverges upon approaching the $T=0$ critical point. The divergence of $τ(T\to 0)$ is Arrhenius-like, with a barrier height that depends very mildly on temperature. The growth of this barrier-height is best described by critical dynamics. As a side product we obtain an impressive confirmation of universality of the equilibrium behavior of two-dimensional spin-glasses.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2018

The out-equilibrium 2D Ising spin glass: almost, but not quite, a free-field theory

We consider the spatial correlation function of the two-dimensional Ising spin glass under out-equilibrium conditions. We pay special attention to the scaling limit reached upon approaching zero temperature. The field-theory of a non-interacting field makes a surprisingly good job at describing the spatial shape of the correlation function of the out-equilibrium Edwards-Anderson Ising model in two dimensions.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2018

Aging rate of spin glasses from simulations matches experiments

Experiments on spin glasses can now make precise measurements of the exponent $z(T)$ governing the growth of glassy domains, while our computational capabilities allow us to make quantitative predictions for experimental scales. However, experimental and numerical values for $z(T)$ have differed. We use new simulations on the Janus II computer to resolve this discrepancy, finding a time-dependent $z(T, t_w)$, which leads to the experimental value through mild extrapolations. Furthermore, theoretical insight is gained by studying a crossover between the $T = T_c$ and $T = 0$ fixed points.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2017

Dynamic Variational Study of Chaos: Spin Glasses in Three Dimensions

We have introduced a variational method to improve the computation of integrated correlation times in the Parallel Tempering Dynamics, obtaining a better estimate (a lower bound, at least) of the exponential correlation time. Using this determination of the correlation times, we revisited the problem of the characterization of the chaos in temperature in finite dimensional spin glasses by means of the study of correlations between different chaos indicators computed in the static and the correlation times of the Parallel Tempering dynamics. The sample-distribution of the characteristic time for the Parallel Tempering dynamics turns out to be fat-tailed and it obeys finite-size scaling.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2017

Matching microscopic and macroscopic responses in glasses

We first reproduce on the Janus and Janus II computers a milestone experiment that measures the spin-glass coherence length through the lowering of free-energy barriers induced by the Zeeman effect. Secondly we determine the scaling behavior that allows a quantitative analysis of a new experiment reported in the companion Letter [S. Guchhait and R. Orbach, Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 157203 (2017)]. The value of the coherence length estimated through the analysis of microscopic correlation functions turns out to be quantitatively consistent with its measurement through macroscopic response functions. Further, non-linear susceptibilities, recently measured in glass-forming liquids, scale as powers of the same microscopic length.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2017

A statics-dynamics equivalence through the fluctuation-dissipation ratio provides a window into the spin-glass phase from nonequilibrium measurements

The unifying feature of glass formers (such as polymers, supercooled liquids, colloids, granulars, spin glasses, superconductors, ...) is a sluggish dynamics at low temperatures. Indeed, their dynamics is so slow that thermal equilibrium is never reached in macroscopic samples: in analogy with living beings, glasses are said to age. Here, we show how to relate experimentally relevant quantities with the experimentally unreachable low-temperature equilibrium phase. We have performed a very accurate computation of the non-equilibrium fluctuation-dissipation ratio for the three-dimensional Edwards-Anderson Ising spin glass, by means of large-scale simulations on the special-purpose computers Janus and Janus II. This ratio (computed for finite times on very large, effectively infinite, systems) is compared with the equilibrium probability distribution of the spin overlap for finite sizes. The resulting quantitative statics-dynamics dictionary, based on observables that can be measured with current experimental methods, could allow the experimental exploration of important features of the spin-glass phase without uncontrollable extrapolations to infinite times or system sizes.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗