Competing interaction in magnets: the root of ordered disorder or only frustration?

Abstract

What does the equilibrium atomic, molecular or spin configuration of a glass phase look like? Is there only one unique equilibrium configuration or are there infinitely many configurations of equal energy? The processes and mechanisms governing the path towards equilibrium, i.e. the dynamics of glassy systems, provide insights to these questions. Here we discuss the intrinsic dynamics of different glassy magnets: of spin-glasses, frustrated ferromagnets, superspin-glasses and other nanostructured systems with competing ferro- and antiferromagnetic interactions and randomness in their spatial distribution. This paper is intended as a brief update on some unsolved problems and the current empirical status in the field of disordered and frustrated magnetism.