Glassy Dynamics in Thermally Activated List Sorting

摘要

Sorting the integers 1 through A' into an ordered list is a simple task that can be done rapidly. However, using an algorithm based on the thermally activated pairwise exchanges of neighboring list elements, we find sorting can display many features of a glass, even for lists as small as N = 5. This includes memory and rejuvenation effects during aging-two hallmarks of glassy dynamics that have been difficult to reproduce in standard glass simulations.