Renormalization group theory: Its basis and formulation in statistical physics

1998/04/01 by Michael E. Fisher · 4 citations
Physics and Astronomy · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Theoretical and Computational Physics #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Complex Systems and Time Series Analysis

paper · doi:10.1103/revmodphys.70.653

openalex publication_date 1998/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30

Abstract

The nature and origins of renormalization group ideas in statistical physics and condensed matter theory are recounted informally, emphasizing those features of prime importance in these areas of science in contradistinction to quantum field theory, in particular: critical exponents and scaling, relevance, irrelevance and marginality, universality, and Wilson's crucial concept of flows and fixed points in a large space of Hamiltonians.

Citations

• The renormalization group and the ε expansion
• The theory of equilibrium critical phenomena
• The renormalization group: Critical phenomena and the Kondo problem
• Theory of dynamic critical phenomena
• Crystal Statistics. I. A Two-Dimensional Model with an Order-Disorder Transition

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