Interplay between the Lyapunov exponents and phase transitions of charged AdS black holes

Abstract: We study the relationship between the standard or extended thermodynamic phase structure of various AdS black holes and the Lyapunov exponents associated with the null and time-like geodesics. We consider dyonic, Bardeen, Gauss-Bonnet, and Lorentz-symmetry breaking massive gravity black holes and calculate the Lyapunov exponents of massless and massive particles in unstable circular geodesics close to the black hole. We find that the thermal profile of the Lyapunov exponents exhibits distinct behaviour in the small and large black hole phases and can encompass certain aspects of the van der Waals type small/large black hole phase transition. We further analyse the properties of Lyapunov exponents as an order parameter and find that its critical exponent is $1/2$, near the critical point for all black holes considered here.