Abstract
We analyze the form of the specific heat for ideal particles in a system with a finite number of layers, n. An amplitude t is assumed for particles hopping between neighboring layers. In spite of the fact that the excitation gap in the discrete direction is wiped out by the continuous two-dimensional spectrum, a Schottky anomaly persists for both classical and quantum particles. Although finite-temperature Bose condensation only occurs when n is strictly infinite, we find the tendency towards condensation happens much earlier and is responsible for a second peak for the specific heat of bosons at large n. © 1995 The American Physical Society.