Central Approximation in Statistical Physics and Information Theory
  In statistical physics and information theory, although the exponent of the partition function is often of our primary interest, there are cases where one needs more detailed information. In this paper, we present a general framework to study more precise asymptotic behaviors of the partition function, using the central approximation in conjunction with the method of types. 
Ryuhei Mori and Toshiyuki Tanaka
cs.IT cond-mat.stat-mech math.IT