Includes index.

Machine generated contents note: 1. A few well-known basic results; 2. Introduction: order parameters, broken symmetries; 3. Examples of physical situations modelled by the Ising model; 4. A few results about the Ising model; 5. High temperature and low temperature expansions; 6. Some geometric problems related to phase transitions; 7. Phenomenological description of the critical behaviour; 8. Mean field theory; 9. Beyond mean field theory; 10. Introduction to the renormalization group; 11. Renormalization group for the [phi]4 theory; 12. Renormalized theory; 13. Goldstone modes; 14. Large n; Index.

"Knowledge of the renormalization group and field theory is a key part of physics, and is essential in condensed matter and particle physics. Written for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students, this textbook provides a concise introduction to this subject. The textbook deals directly with the loop-expansion of the free-energy, also known as the background field method. This is a powerful method, especially when dealing with symmetries, and statistical mechanics. In focussing on free-energy, the author avoids long developments on field theory techniques. The necessity of renormalization then follows"-- Provided by publisher.