Can Aging Phenomena Discriminate Between the Droplet Model and a Hierarchical Description in Spin Glasses?

Abstract

We performed low-frequency (f = 0.1 Hz) a.c. susceptibility measurements on the CdCr1.7In0.3S4 insulating spin glass. The experiments were selected in an attempt to discriminate between the droplet model and a hierarchical picture characterized by a continuous splitting of the metastable states with decreasing temperatures. We studied the effect of small temperature changes on the aging of the out-of-phase susceptibility χ'' below the freezing temperature Tg. We find that the predictions of the droplet model do not agree with some aspects of the results which appear as direct consequences of a hierarchical organization in phase space.