Glass transition and the replica symmetry breaking in vortex matter: MC study (Q546865)

In this note, it is studied numerically the disordered 2D Ginzburg-Landau model within the lowest Landau level (LLL) approximation using the Monte-Carlo (MC) simulation. Effects of disorder and thermal fluctuations are studied by considering the Gibbs energy. The original model is simplified by retaining just the lowest Landau level. Then the quasimomentum basis is used that has an advantage for the MC simulation, and also periodic boundary conditions make quasimomentum discrete. By using the Boltzmann weight of the reduced (LLL) model, the presented simulation has no spatial grid avoiding the problem of the artificial pinning by the grid. The Metropolis algorithm is used to simulate up to 100 different disorder configurations for sizes up to \(N = 16 \times 16\) vortices. The clean system is simulated with results similar to those obtained in other simulations and is consistent with the theory. The numerical results show that there is a tiny split in the glass line in two critical points. One clearly observes that unpinned phases (Abrikosov lattice and liquid phase) with clear Bragg peaks becomes a Bragg lattice with diffuse peaks and becomes homogeneous glassy state at large disorder. The MC simulation confirms the replica results for the four phase (Bragg glass, vortex glass, liquid and Abrikosov lattice) picture of the vortex matter phase diagram in 2D far from the lower critical field line. The note establishes the glassy phases in both the homogeneous and the crystalline systems although without details of the phase boundaries.