50 years of spin glass theory

TL;DR

This paper reviews 50 years of spin glass theory, highlighting key developments from foundational papers that revolutionized understanding of complex disordered systems across multiple scientific disciplines.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the conceptual, mathematical, and practical advances in spin glass theory since its inception in 1975.

Findings

Introduction of the Edwards-Anderson model

Development of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model

Impact on understanding complex disordered systems

Abstract

In 1975, two papers were published that together sparked major new directions, conceptual, mathematical and practically applicable, in several previously disparate fields of science. In this short review, we expose key aspects of their thinking, implementations and implications, along with a selection of further crucial and consequential developments. These papers were `Theory of spin glasses' by S.F.Edwards and P.W.Anderson (EA)[1] and `Solvable Model of a Spin-Glass', by D.Sherrington and S.Kirkpatrick (SK)[2], both concerned with trying to understand recent experiments that suggested a new phase of matter.