Glassy states in lattice models with many coexisting crystalline phases

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that glassy states can emerge in lattice models with multiple coexisting crystalline phases, without quenched disorder, through simulations of Potts and exclusion models.

Contribution

It shows that glassy states arise from the coexistence of crystalline phases in lattice models, a phenomenon previously not well understood.

Findings

Glassy states form after sudden cooling in models with many crystalline phases.

The emergence depends on the order of limits taken in the thermodynamic and infinite time regimes.

Simulations of Potts and exclusion models support the theoretical findings.

Abstract

We study the emergence of glassy states after a sudden cooling in lattice models with short range interactions and without any a priori quenched disorder. The glassy state emerges whenever the equilibrium model possesses a sufficient number of coexisting crystalline phases at low temperatures, provided the thermodynamic limit be taken before the infinite time limit. This result is obtained through simulations of the time relaxation of the standard Potts model and some exclusion models equipped with a local stochastic dynamics on a square lattice.