Thermodynamic signatures of an underlying quantum phase transition: A grand canonical approach

• The grand-canonical statistics of a quantum phase transition is studied.
• Thermodynamic quantities display features related to the quantum phase transition.
• A mean field approach allows to obtain the partition function analytically.

The grand canonical formalism is employed to study the thermodynamic structure of a model displaying a quantum phase transition when studied with respect to the canonical formalism. A numerical survey shows that the grand partition function diverges following a power law when the interaction parameter approaches a limiting constant. The power-law exponent takes a distinctive value when such limiting constant coincides with the critical point of the subjacent quantum phase transition. An approximated expression for the grand partition function is derived analytically implementing a mean field scheme and a number of thermodynamic observables are obtained. The system observables show signatures that can be used to track the critical point of the underlying transition. This result provides a simple fact that can be exploited to verify the existence of a quantum phase transition avoiding the zero temperature regime.