  A theoretical analysis [Angelani et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 065702 (2006)]
predicts glassy behaviour of light in a nonlinear random medium. This implies
slow dynamics related to the presence of many metastable states. We consider
very general equations (that also apply to other systems, like Bose-Condensed
gases) describing light in a disordered non-linear medium and through some
approximations we relate them to a mean-field spin-glass-like model. The model
is solved by the replica method, and replica-symmetry breaking phase transition
is predicted. The transition describes a mode-locking process in which the
phases of the modes are locked to random (history and sample-dependent) values.
The results are based on very general theory, and embrace a variety of physical
phenomena.
