Mediaspace scheduled maintenance: Aug 25, 2026 07:00 - 12:00 AM. During this time, videos will be temporarily unavailable. Check status updates.

Lecture

Replica Symmetry: Guess

In courses (2)

PHYS-467: Machine learning for physicists

Machine learning and data analysis are becoming increasingly central in sciences including physics. In this course, fundamental principles and methods of machine learning will be introduced and practised. ...

PHYS-512: Statistical physics of computation

The students understand tools from the statistical physics of disordered systems, and apply them to study computational and statistical problems in graph theory, discrete optimisation, inference and machine learning. ...

Description

This lecture covers the concept of replica symmetry and the guessing process in mathematical models, focusing on the assumptions and calculations involved in determining the symmetry of replicas and making educated guesses based on the given data.

Instructors (3)

Vittorio Erba

Florent Gérard Krzakala

Lenka Zdeborová

Lenka Zdeborová is a Professor of Physics and of Computer Science in École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne where she leads the Statistical Physics of Computation Laboratory. She received a PhD in physics from University Paris-Sud and from Charles University in Prague in 2008. She spent two years in the Los Alamos National Laboratory as the Director's Postdoctoral Fellow. Between 2010 and 2020 she was a researcher at CNRS working in the Institute of Theoretical Physics in CEA Saclay, France. In 2014, she was awarded the CNRS bronze medal, in 2016 Philippe Meyer prize in theoretical physics and an ERC Starting Grant, in 2018 the Irène Joliot-Curie prize, in 2021 the Gibbs lectureship of AMS. She is an editorial board member for Journal of Physics A, Physical Review E, Physical Review X, SIMODS, Machine Learning: Science and Technology, and Information and Inference. Lenka's expertise is in applications of concepts from statistical physics, such as advanced mean field methods, replica method and related message-passing algorithms, to problems in machine learning, signal processing, inference and optimization. She enjoys erasing the boundaries between theoretical physics, mathematics and computer science.

Official source

Related concepts (16)

Mathematical model

A mathematical model is an abstract description of a concrete system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used in applied mathematics and in the natural sciences (such as physics, biology, earth science, chemistry) and engineering disciplines (such as computer science, electrical engineering), as well as in non-physical systems such as the social sciences (such as economics, psychology, sociology, political science).

Replica trick

In the statistical physics of spin glasses and other systems with quenched disorder, the replica trick is a mathematical technique based on the application of the formula: or: where is most commonly the partition function, or a similar thermodynamic function. It is typically used to simplify the calculation of , the expected value of , reducing the problem to calculating the disorder average where is assumed to be an integer. This is physically equivalent to averaging over copies or replicas of the system, hence the name.

Mathematical logic

Mathematical logic is the study of formal logic within mathematics. Major subareas include model theory, proof theory, set theory, and recursion theory (also known as computability theory). Research in mathematical logic commonly addresses the mathematical properties of formal systems of logic such as their expressive or deductive power. However, it can also include uses of logic to characterize correct mathematical reasoning or to establish foundations of mathematics.

Mathematical economics

Mathematical economics is the application of mathematical methods to represent theories and analyze problems in economics. Often, these applied methods are beyond simple geometry, and may include differential and integral calculus, difference and differential equations, matrix algebra, mathematical programming, or other computational methods. Proponents of this approach claim that it allows the formulation of theoretical relationships with rigor, generality, and simplicity.

Mathematical psychology

Mathematical psychology is an approach to psychological research that is based on mathematical modeling of perceptual, thought, cognitive and motor processes, and on the establishment of law-like rules that relate quantifiable stimulus characteristics with quantifiable behavior (in practice often constituted by task performance). The mathematical approach is used with the goal of deriving hypotheses that are more exact and thus yield stricter empirical validations.

Related lectures (40)

Extended Josephson Junctions: Modeling and Critical Current

Covers the magnetic thickness, short and long junctions, and critical current.

Spin Glasses: Fully Connected

Covers the basics of spin glasses and the mathematical equations used to model them.

Pen-and-paper exercises: Session 4

Focuses on pen-and-paper exercises in computational analysis and problem-solving strategies.

Engineering model for capillary sorption MOOC: Sorption and transport in cementitious materials

Presents an engineering model for capillary sorption in cementitious materials, focusing on simple experimental analysis and mathematical formulations.

Oil Convection Study