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Renormalization group theory: Its basis and formulation in statistical physics

Michael E. Fisher

Michael E. Fisher

  • Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742

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Rev. Mod. Phys. 70, 653 – Published 1 April, 1998

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.70.653

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.

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See Also

Critical Behavior of Magnets with Dipolar Interactions. I. Renormalization Group near Four Dimensions

Amnon Aharony and Michael E. Fisher
Phys. Rev. B 8, 3323 (1973)

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Rev. Mod. Phys. 70, 653– Published 1 April, 1998

    © 1998 American Physical Society

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