title: Glassy dynamics in thermally activated list sorting.
abstract: Sorting the integers 1 through N 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.
authors.affiliation: The James Franck Institute and Department of Physics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. zou@uchicago.edu
authors.forename: Ling-Nan
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Sidney R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Nagel