Phase behavior and kinetics in systems with random interactions

I investigate properties of systems with random interactions. Such systems were initially proposed by Sear and Cuesta to understand phase behavior in biology, and usually solved in the mean-field regime. In this talk, I will revisit this model using theory and computer simulations. I will show that in the limit of a large number of components, the partition function is factorizable, and that this factorization remains valid for temperatures above a demixing temperature. However, these systems tend to exhibit particularly slow dynamics. In addition, I confirm the prediction of Jacobs and Frenkel: the transition temperature is intimately linked to extreme values of the interaction distribution. In this context, I will discuss the suitability of such models for biological systems.