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Coarse-Graining as a Route to Microscopic Physics: The Renormalization Group in Quantum Field Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Bihui Li
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Abstract

The renormalization group (RG) has been characterized as merely a coarse-graining procedure that does not illuminate the microscopic content of quantum field theory (QFT) but merely gets us from that content, as given by axiomatic QFT, to macroscopic predictions. I argue that in the constructive field theory tradition, RG techniques do illuminate the microscopic dynamics of a QFT, which are not automatically given by axiomatic QFT. RG techniques in constructive field theory are also rigorous, so one cannot object to their foundational import on grounds of lack of rigor.

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Type
Quantum Physics
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Philosophy of Science , Volume 82 , Issue 5 , December 2015 , pp. 1211 - 1223
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

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