Coherent-Anomaly Method: Mean Field, Fluctuations and Systematics

This text presents a systematic and coherent approach to phase transitions and critical phenomena, namely the coherent-anomaly method (CAM theory) based on cluster mean-field approximations. The first part gives a brief review of CAM theory and the second part a collection of reprints covering: the CAM model; the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model; the extended Baxter model, the quantum Heisenberg model; zero-temperature phase transitions; the KT-transition; spin glasses; the self-avoiding walk; contact processes; branching processes; the gas-liquid transition; and non-equilibrium phase transitions.