Quantum phase transition in spin glasses with multi-spin interactions

We examine the phase diagram of the p-interaction spin glass model in a transverse field. We consider a spherical version of the model and compare with results obtained in the Ising case. The analysis of the spherical model, with and without quantization, reveals a phase diagram very similar to that obtained in the Ising case. In particular, using the static approximation, reentrance is observed at low temperatures in both the quantum spherical and Ising models. This is an artifact of the approximation and disappears when the imaginary time dependence of the order parameter is taken into account. The resulting phase diagram is checked by accurate numerical investigation of the phase boundaries. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.