Lyapunov exponents and phase transition of Hayward AdS black hole

Abstract In this paper, we study the relationship between the phase transition and Lyapunov exponents for 4D Hayward anti-de Sitter (AdS) black hole. We consider the motion of massless and massive particles around an unstable circular orbit of the Hayward AdS black hole in the equatorial plane and calculate the corresponding Lyapunov exponents. The phase transition is found to be well described by the multivaled Lyapunov exponents. It is also found that different phases of Hayward AdS black hole coincide with different branches of the Lyapunov exponents. We also study the discontinuous change in the Lyapunov exponents and find that it can serve as an order parameter near the critical point. The critical exponent of change in Lyapunov exponent near the critical point is found to be 1/2.