PHYSICAL-PROPERTIES OF METALS FROM A RENORMALIZATION-GROUP STANDPOINT

We derive the equilibrium and transport properties of metals using ren ormalization group equations and finite-size scaling. Particular atten tion is given to the well-known cases of Fermi and Luttinger liquids. An important subtlety is that the temperature dependence of many trans port coefficients is determined by ''dangerous'' irrelevant operators. We also characterize violations of Fermi or Luttinger liquid behavior in terms of indices, analogous to the critical indices describing pha se transitions. We briefly consider the normal-state properties of the cuprates from this standpoint.