Thermodynamics of the spin-1/2 two-leg ladder compound $(C_{5}H_{12}N)_{2} CuBr_{4}$

Abstract

The thermodynamic behavior of the spin $S=1/2$ antiferromagnetic two-leg ladder compound $(C_{5}H_{12}N)_{2} CuBr_{4}$ in a uniform magnetic field is studied using numerical and analytical approaches. The entropy $S(H,T)$ and specific heat $C(H,T)$ are calculated. The specific heat shows various behaviors in different regions of the magnetic field. The field-dependence of the specific heat is almost symmetric about the average of quantum critical fields in complete agreement with experimental results. In addition, it is found that during an adiabatic demagnetization process, temperature drops in the vicinity of the field induced zero-temperature quantum phase transitions.