Spin glasses

Erwin Bolthausen (auth.), Erwin Bolthausen, Anton Bovier (eds.)9783540409021, 3-540-40902-5

Spin glass theory is going through a stunning period of progress while finding exciting new applications in areas beyond theoretical physics, in particular in combinatorics and computer science. This collection of state-of-the-art review papers written by leading experts in the field covers the topic from a wide variety of angles. The topics covered are mean field spin glasses, including a pedagogical account of Talagrand’s proof of the Parisi solution, short range spin glasses, emphasizing the open problem of the relevance of the mean-field theory for lattice models, and the dynamics of spin glasses, in particular the problem of ageing in mean field models.

The book will serve as a concise introduction to the state of the art of spin glass theory, usefull to both graduate students and young researchers, as well as to anyone curious to know what is going on in this exciting area of mathematical physics.

Table of contents :
Front Matter….Pages I-IX
Random Media and Spin Glasses: An Introduction into Some Mathematical Results and Problems….Pages 1-44
Spin Glasses: A Perspective….Pages 45-62
Mean Field Models for Spin Glasses: Some Obnoxious Problems….Pages 63-80
Much Ado about Derrida’s GREM….Pages 81-115
Dynamics for Spherical Models of Spin-Glass and Aging….Pages 117-144
Local vs. Global Variables for Spin Glasses….Pages 145-158
Short-Range Spin Glasses: Results and Speculations….Pages 159-175
Back Matter….Pages 177-182