Coarse-Graining as a Route to Microscopic Physics
The Renormalization Group in Quantum Field Theory
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10704199 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bihui Li (0000-0003-0993-6537, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 82 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 1211-1223 |
| Publication date | 2015-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-8248 • E-ISSN: 1539-767X |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1086/684085 |
| OpenAlex | W2282978792 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 17 |
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
Axiom · Axiomatic system · Constructive · Epistemology · Field (mathematics) · Field theory (psychology) · Granularity · Physics · Pure mathematics · Quantum field theory · Quantum mechanics · Renormalization · Renormalization group · Theoretical physics · Black Holes and Theoretical Physics · Computer Science · Mathematical Physics · Mathematics · Philosophy · Quantum Mechanics and Applications · Theoretical and Computational Physics
| Citations per year | 0.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2020 - 2023 (4) |
| Highly cited | No |