No Arabic abstract
The existence of an equilibrium glassy phase for charges in a disordered potential with long-range electrostatic interactions has remained controversial for many years. Here we conduct an extensive numerical study of the disorder-temperature phase diagram of the three-dimensional Coulomb glass model using population annealing Monte Carlo to thermalize the system down to extremely low temperatures. Our results strongly suggest that, in addition to a charge order phase, a transition to a glassy phase can be observed, consistent with previous analytical and experimental studies.
We perform numerical simulations, including parallel tempering, on the Potts glass model with binary random quenched couplings using the JANUS application-oriented computer. We find and characterize a glassy transition, estimating the location of the transition and the value of the critical exponents. We show that there is no ferromagnetic transition in a large temperature range around the glassy critical temperature. We also compare our results with those obtained recently on the random permutation Potts glass.
We reply to the Comment by Mobius and Richter [arXiv:0908.3092, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 039701 (2010)] on Density of States and Critical Behavior of the Coulomb Glass [arXiv:0805.4640, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 067205 (2009)] and address the issues raised with our results on the density of states. In addition, we correct our statements about the random displacement version of the Coulomb glass model where the Wigner crystal is not as robust to disorder as stated. Still, our main result of a lack of a finite-temperature transition in the Coulomb glass remains unchallenged.
We have investigated the phase transition in the Heisenberg spin glass using massive numerical simulations to study larger sizes, 48x48x48, than have been attempted before at a spin glass phase transition. A finite-size scaling analysis indicates that the data is compatible with the most economical scenario: a common transition temperature for spins and chiralities.
The spatially uniaxially anisotropic d=3 Ising spin glass is solved exactly on a hierarchical lattice. Five different ordered phases, namely ferromagnetic, columnar, layered, antiferromagnetic, and spin-glass phases, are found in the global phase diagram. The spin-glass phase is more extensive when randomness is introduced within the planes than when it is introduced in lines along one direction. Phase diagram cross-sections, with no Nishimori symmetry, with Nishimori symmetry lines, or entirely imbedded into Nishimori symmetry, are studied. The boundary between the ferromagnetic and spin-glass phases can be either reentrant or forward, that is either receding from or penetrating into the spin-glass phase, as temperature is lowered. However, this boundary is always reentrant when the multicritical point terminating it is on the Nishimori symmetry line.
Amorphous solids such as glass are ubiquitous in our daily life and have found broad applications ranging from window glass and solar cells to telecommunications and transformer cores. However, due to the lack of long-range order, the three-dimensional (3D) atomic structure of amorphous solids have thus far defied any direct experimental determination without model fitting. Here, using a multi-component metallic glass as a proof-of-principle, we advance atomic electron tomography to determine the 3D atomic positions in an amorphous solid for the first time. We quantitatively characterize the short-range order (SRO) and medium-range order (MRO) of the 3D atomic arrangement. We find that although the 3D atomic packing of the SRO is geometrically disordered, some SRO connect with each other to form crystal-like networks and give rise to MRO. We identify four crystal-like MRO networks - face-centred cubic, hexagonal close-packed, body-centered cubic and simple cubic - coexisting in the sample, which show translational but no orientational order. These observations confirm that the 3D atomic structure in some parts of the sample is consistent with the efficient cluster packing model. Looking forward, we anticipate this experiment will open the door to determining the 3D atomic coordinates of various amorphous solids, whose impact on non-crystalline solids may be comparable to the first 3D crystal structure solved by x-ray crystallography over a century ago.