Variational principle of Bogoliubov and generalized mean fields in many-particle interacting systems

Abstract

The approach to the theory of many-particle interacting systems from a unified standpoint, based on the variational principle for free energy is reviewed. A systematic discussion is given of the approximate free energies of complex statistical systems. The analysis is centered around the variational principle of Bogoliubov for free energy in the context of its applications to various problems of statistical mechanics. The review presents a terse discussion of selected works carried out over the past few decades on the theory of many-particle interacting systems in terms of the variational inequalities. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss some of the general principles which form the mathematical background to this approach and to establish a connection of the variational technique with other methods, such as the method of the mean (or self-consistent) field in the many-body problem. The method is illustrated by applying it to various systems of many-particle interacting systems, such as Ising, Heisenberg and Hubbard models, superconducting (SC) and superfluid systems, etc. This work proposes a new, general and pedagogical presentation, intended both for those who are interested in basic aspects and for those who are interested in concrete applications.