Linear integral equations and renormalization group

Abstract

A formulation of the position-space renormalization-group (RG) technique is used to analyze the singular behavior of solutions to a number of integral equations used in the theory of the liquid state. In particular, we examine the truncated Kirkwood-Salsburg equation, the Ornstein-Zernike equation, and a simple nonlinear equation used in the mean-field theory of liquids. We discuss the differences in applying the position-space RG to lattice systems and to fluids, and the need for an explicit free-energy rescaling assumption in our formulation of the RG for integral equations. Our analysis provides one natural way to define a "fractal" dimension at a phase transition. © 1984 The American Physical Society.