Explaining universality: infinite limit systems in the renormalization group method

Wu, Jingyi ORCID: 0000-0001-7198-851X (2021) Explaining universality: infinite limit systems in the renormalization group method. Synthese, 199 (5-6). pp. 14897-14930. ISSN 0039-7857

Text (Explaining Universality Infinite Limit Systems in the Renormalization Group Method) - Accepted Version Download (1MB)

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Abstract

I analyze the role of infinite idealizations used in the renormalization group (RG hereafter) method in explaining universality across microscopically different physical systems in critical phenomena. I argue that despite the reference to infinite limit systems such as systems with infinite correlation lengths during the RG process, the key to explaining universality in critical phenomena need not involve infinite limit systems. I develop my argument by introducing what I regard as the explanatorily relevant property in RG explanations: linearization* property; I then motivate and prove a proposition about the linearization* property in support of my view. As a result, infinite limit systems in RG explanations are dispensable.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.
Divisions:	LSE
Date Deposited:	22 May 2024 08:57
Last Modified:	12 Jun 2024 22:54
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/123573

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