SLOW INTERACTION DYNAMICS IN SPIN-GLASS MODELS

The spin model of Coolen et al, involving slow dynamical laws for the couplings linking fast spins, is considered as a spin-glass model havi ng explicit quenched disorder. The thermodynamic behaviour predicted i s reminiscent of a Sherrington-Kirkpatrick spin-glass with one-step re plica-symmetry breaking--generalizing the parallels of the simplest fo rm of this model, which was entirely free of frozen disorder. However, even though the slow evolution of the couplings allows some balancing between achieving unfrustrated spin configurations and adopting those favoured by the quenched disorder, it is seen that this is not genera lly sufficient to avoid replica-symmetry breaking throughout the froze n phases. Moreover, there are seen to be two distinct types of spin-gl ass phase, each of which has both ergodic (replica-symmetric) and ergo dicity-broken regimes.