The decoupling of the glass transitions in the two-component $p$-spin spherical model

TL;DR

This paper introduces a two-component p-spin spherical model to study glass transitions in binary mixtures, revealing multiple glass phases and decoupling phenomena depending on interaction strengths and temperature.

Contribution

The study extends the p-spin model to two components, uncovering new glass phases and transition behaviors relevant to binary mixture glass phenomenology.

Findings

Identification of three distinct glass phases depending on interaction strength and temperature.

Demonstration of decoupling of glass transitions between components under certain conditions.

Analysis of replica symmetry breaking patterns in different glass phases.

Abstract

Binary mixtures of large and small particles with disparate size ratio exhibit a rich phenomenology at their glass transition points. In order to gain insights on such systems, we introduce and study a two-component version of the $p$-spin spherical spin glass model. We employ the replica method to calculate the free energy and the phase diagram. We show that when the strengths of the interactions of each component are not widely separated, the model has only one glass phase characterized by the conventional one-step replica symmetry breaking. However when the strengths of the interactions are well separated, the model has three glass phases depending on temperature and component ratio. One is the "single" glass phase in which only the spins of one component are frozen while the spins of the other component remain mobile. This phase is characterized by the one-step replica symmetry breaking. The second is the "double" glass phase obtained by cooling further the single glass phase, in which the spins of the remaining mobile component are also frozen. This phase is characterized by the two-step replica symmetry breaking. The third is also the "double" glass phase, which however is formed by the simultaneous freezing of the spins of both components at the same temperatures and is characterized by the one-step replica symmetry breaking. We discuss the implications of these results for the glass transitions of binary mixtures.