Thermodynamics of Integrable Chains with Alternating Spins

We consider a two-parameter $(\bar c, \tilde c)$ family of quantum integrable Hamiltonians for a chain of alternating spins of spin $s=1/2$ and $s=1$. We determine the thermodynamics for low-temperature $T$ and small external magnetic field $H$, with $T << H$. In the antiferromagnetic $(\bar c > 0, \tilde c > 0)$ case, the model has two gapless excitations. In particular, for $\bar c = \tilde c$, the model is conformally invariant and has central charge $c_{vir} = 2$. When one of these parameters is zero, the Bethe Ansatz equations admit an infinite number of solutions with lowest energy.