Density Matrix and Renormalization for Classical Lattice Models
  We review the variational principle in the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method, which maximizes an approximate partition function within a restricted degrees of freedom; at zero temperature, DMRG mini- mizes the ground state energy. The variational principle is applied to two-dimensional (2D) classical lattice models, where the density matrix is expressed as a product of corner transfer matrices. (CTMs) DMRG related fields and future directions of DMRG are briefly discussed. 
T. Nishino and K. Okunishi