Giorgio Parisi
Published 1998-05-31, updated 1998-06-02Version 2
In this talk we review our theoretical understanding of spin glasses paying a particular attention to the basic physical ideas. We introduce the replica method and we describe its probabilistic consequences (we stress the recently discovered importance of stochastic stability). We show that the replica method is not restricted to systems with quenched disorder. We present the consequences on the dynamics of the system when it slows approaches equilibrium are presented: they are confirmed by large scale simulations, while we are still awaiting for a direct experimental verification.
Comments: Contribution to the Conference in Honour of Giovanni Paladin, Rome September 1997. 10 pages and 2 figures The length of the paper has been changed
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Effective potential in glassy systems: theory and simulations
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