Origin of the replica approach to spin glasses Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-11-05
In his 1985 recollection, Sam Edwards traced his work with Philip Warren Anderson to Saturday discussions and an analogy with randomly crosslinked polymers. He adapted methods from rubber theory during train journeys while chairing the Science Research Council.[ref]
Replica trick 2026-10-18
For positive , the displayed identity follows by differentiating at zero.
Integer powers of a partition function represent independent copies with the same disorder. Integer moments alone do not justify analytic continuation or interchanging disorder averages and thermodynamic limits.[ref]
Sam Edwards Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-11-05
A theoretical physicist who, with Philip Warren Anderson, developed a description of spin glasses using an order parameter based on persistent local-spin correlations. A material can lack a net magnetization while individual spins retain memory of their orientation. Edwards's own account connects this problem with ideas from disordered polymer networks and explains the use of replicas in calculating thermodynamic behavior.[ref]