SPIN GLASS THEORY AND BEYOND

This book contains a detailed and self-contained presentation of the replica theory of infinite range spin glasses. The authors also explain recent theoretical developments, paying particular attention to new applications in the study of optimization theory and neural networks. About two-thirds of the book are a collection of the most interesting and pedagogical articles on the subject.

Contents:

Introduction
Spin Glasses:
- The Replica Approach
- The TAP Approach
- Breaking the Replica Symmetry
- The Nature of the Spin Glass Phase
- The Cavity Method
- Dynamics
Optimization:
- Combinatorial Optimization Problems
- Simulated Annealing
- Analytical Results
Biological Applications:
- Prebiotic Evolution and Spin Glasses. Brain Modelling. The Hopfield Model and its Variations
Reprints

Readership: Physicists, mathematicians and biologists.

“The authors give a masterly account of the work on the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model in the first 85 pages. Such a summary cannot be found elsewhere, and much of our current understanding of the problem is due to the authors of this book and their collaborators … This is an important book, which every physics library should have. It is also good reading for anyone who wants to know about these aspects of the spin glass problem, and why “replica symmetry breaking” and “ultrametricity” may be important.”

Physics Today

“… a very useful source of relevant information on the progress achieved by theoretical physicists in the field. It can be helpful also to mathematicians trying to develop a mathematically rigorous counterpart of this theory.”

EMS

476pp		Pub. date: Nov 1986
ISBN: 978-9971-5-0116-7(pbk) 9971-5-0116-3(pbk)		US$30 / £23

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