The ordering of XY spin glasses

Abstract: Ordering properties of XY-like spin-glass magnets with an easy-plane magnetic anisotropy are studied based on a symmetry consideration and the results of recent numerical simulations on the pure Heisenberg and XY spin-glass models. The effects of an easy-plane-type uniaxial anisotropy, a random magnetic anisotropy and an applied magnetic field are investigated. In the XY regime in zero field, the "spin-chirality decoupling" persists even under the random magnetic anisotropy, escaping the "spin-chirality recoupling" phenomenon which inevitably occurs in the Heisenberg regime. Contrast between the scalar chiral order and the vector chiral order is emphasized. Implications to experiments are discussed.