Abstract:
A detailed review is given on the evolution of the theory of itinerant magnetism. The self-consistent renormalization (SCR) theory is quite successful in addressing the phenomenon of itinerant magnetism in weakly and nearly ferromagnetic and anti-ferromagnetic materials. It goes beyond the Stoner and random phase approximation (RPA) theories in taking the correlation effects into account. The Mathematical machinery of the SCR theory is rather complicated. The aim of these notes is to provide the required background. The problems with Stoner and RPA theory are discussed and the way in which the SCR theory rectifies those problems is also discussed.