Fractional-order phase transition of charged AdS black holes

Abstract

Employing the fractional derivatives, we construct a more elaborate classification of phase transitions compared to the original Ehrenfest classification. In this way, a thermodynamic system can even undergo a fractional-order phase transition. We use this method to restudy the charged AdS black hole and Van der Waals fluids and find that at the critical point they both have a $4/3$-order phase transition, but not the previously recognized second-order one.