A specific type of the neural networks, the Restricted Boltzmann Machines (RBM), are implemented for classification and feature detection. They are characterized by separate layers of visible and hidden units, which are able to learn efficiently a generative model of the observed data. We study a "hybrid" version of RBM's, in which hidden units are analog and visible units are binary, and we show that the evolution and the thermodynamics of visible units are equivalent to those of a Hopfield network, in which the N visible units are the neurons and the P hidden units are the learned patterns. We apply the method of stochastic stability to derive the thermodynamics of the machine, by considering a formal extension of this technique to the case of multiple sets of stored patterns, which may act as a benchmark for the study of correlated sets. Our results imply that simulating the dynamics of a Hopfield network, requiring the update of N neurons and the storage of N (N − 1)/2 synapses, can be accomplished by a hybrid Boltzmann Machine, requiring the update of N + P neurons but only the storage of N P synapses. In addition, the well known glass transition of the Hopfield network has a counterpart in the Boltzmann Machine: It corresponds to an optimum criterion for selecting the relative sizes of the hidden and visible layers, resolving the trade-off between flexibility and generality of the model. The low storage phase of the Hopfield model corresponds to few hidden units and hence a very constrained RBM, while the spin-glass phase (too many hidden units) corresponds to an overly unconstrained RBM prone to overfitting of the observed data.

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We study a multi-species spin glass system where the density of each species is kept fixed at increasing volumes. The model reduces to the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick one for the single species case. The existence of the thermodynamic limit is proved for all densities values under a convexity condition on the interaction. The thermodynamic properties of the model are investigated and the annealed, the replica symmetric and the replica symmetry breaking bounds are proved using Guerra's scheme. The annealed approximation is proved to be exact under a high temperature condition. We show that the replica symmetric solution has negative entropy at low temperatures. We study the properties of a suitably defined replica symmetry breaking solution and we optimise it within a novel ziggurat ansatz. The generalised order parameter is described by a Parisi-like partial differential equation.

How does immigrant integration in a country change with immigration density? Guided by a statistical mechanics perspective we propose a novel approach to this problem. The analysis focuses on classical integration quantifiers such as the percentage of jobs (temporary and permanent) given to immigrants, mixed marriages, and newborns with parents of mixed origin. We find that the average values of different quantifiers may exhibit either linear or non-linear growth on immigrant density and we suggest that social action, a concept identified by Max Weber, causes the observed non-linearity. Using the statistical mechanics notion of interaction to quantitatively emulate social action, a unified mathematical model for integration is proposed and it is shown to explain both growth behaviors observed. The linear theory instead, ignoring the possibility of interaction effects would underestimate the quantifiers up to 30% when immigrant densities are low, and overestimate them as much when densities are high. The capacity to quantitatively isolate different types of integration mechanisms makes our framework a suitable tool in the quest for more efficient integration policies.

We test the property of ultrametricity for the spin glass three-dimensional Edwards-Anderson model in zero magnetic field with numerical simulations up to $20^3$ spins. We find an excellent agreement with the prediction of the mean field theory. Since ultrametricity is not compatible with a trivial structure of the overlap distribution our result contradicts the droplet theory.Comment: typos correcte