STRUCTURE OF METASTABLE STATES IN SPIN-GLASSES BY MEANS OF A 3-REPLICA POTENTIAL

In this paper we introduce a three replica potential, useful for exami ning the structure of metastable states above the static transition te mperature, in the spherical p-spin model. Studying the minima of the p otential we are able to find the distance between the nearest equilibr ium and local equilibrium states, thus obtaining information on the dy namics of the system. Furthermore, the analysis of the potential at th e dynamical transition temperature suggests that equilibrium states ar e not randomly distributed in the phase space.