creators_name: Gelfert, Axel
type: conference_item
datestamp: 2005-01-16
lastmod: 2010-10-07 15:13:09
metadata_visibility: show
title: Mathematical Rigor in Physics: Putting Exact Results in Their Place
ispublished: inpress
subjects: models-and-idealization
subjects: physics
full_text_status: public
keywords: rigorous results, mathematical rigor, condensed matter physics, phase transitions, many-body physics, statistical physics, models
note: This is the final version as it will appear in Philosophy of Science (Proceedings, PSA 2004).
abstract: The present paper examines the role of exact results in the theory of many-body physics, and specifically the example of the Mermin-Wagner theorem, a rigorous result concerning the absence of phase transitions in low-dimensional systems. While the theorem has been shown to hold for a wide range of many-body models, it is frequently ‘violated’ by results derived from the same models using numerical techniques. This raises the question of how scientists regulate their theoretical commitments in such cases, given that the models, too, are often described as approximations to the underlying ‘full’ many-body problem.
date: 2005
date_type: published
refereed: TRUE
citation: Gelfert, Axel (2005) Mathematical Rigor in Physics: Putting Exact Results in Their Place. In: [2004] Philosophy of Science Assoc. 19th Biennial Meeting - PSA2004: Contributed Papers (Austin, TX; 2004) > PSA 2004 Contributed Papers <http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/view/confandvol/91.html>. (In Press)
document_url: http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/2160/1/GELFERT_PSA2004_MathematicalRigor.pdf