International Journal of Modern Physics B
THERMODYNAMIC DETECTION OF QUANTUM PHASE TRANSITIONS
Michael Kruse, H. G. Miller, Angelo Plastino, Angel Ricardo Plastino
Abstract
We show that, by recourse to thermodynamics's third law, quantum phase transitions in a system of fermions can be detected, in the sense that thereby one automatically finds the values of the external parameter (here coupling strengths of the pertinent Hamiltonian) at which these transitions occur. We illustrate our considerations with reference to an exactly solvable model of Plastino and Moszkowski [Il Nuovo Cimento 47, 470 (1978)].