Work distributions in the T = 0 random field Ising model

Abstract

We perform a numerical study of the three-dimensional random-field Ising model at T= 0. We compare work distributions along metastable trajectories obtained with the single-spin flip dynamics with the distribution of the internal energy change along equilibrium trajectories. The goal is to investigate the possibility of extending the Crooks fluctuation theorem [G. E. Crooks, Phys. Rev. E. 60, 2721 (1999)] to zero temperature when, instead of the standard ensemble statistics, one considers the ensemble generated by the quenched disorder. We show that a simple extension of Crooks fails close to the disordered induced equilibrium phase transition due to the fact that work and internal energy distributions are very asymmetric.