Initial-Slip Dynamics Enables the Quantum Mpemba Effect

Abstract:We investigate the quantum Mpemba effect, whereby a system initially farther from equilibrium relaxes faster than one initially closer to equilibrium, emerging in a quantum harmonic oscillator linearly coupled to a bosonic environment. Starting from factorized thermal states at different temperatures, we derive exact analytical criteria for the occurrence of the quantum Mpemba effect valid also beyond the typically considered weak-coupling and Markovian approximations. Most importantly, we show that the effect is enabled by the initial-slip dynamics generated by the sudden switch-on of the system-bath interaction. Neglecting this contribution completely suppresses the anomalous relaxation, identifying transient system-bath correlations as the key ingredient underlying the quantum Mpemba effect.

Main: 10 pages, 4 figures. Supplemental Material: 24 pages, 1 figure

Quantum Physics (quant-ph); Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)

arXiv:2609.16781 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2609.16781v1 [quant-ph] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2609.16781 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

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