Observing the magic Mpemba effect in localized dynamics on a digital quantum computer

Abstract:The Mpemba effect challenges the intuition that states closer to equilibrium must relax faster. We ask whether an analogous magic-ordering reversal can occur in the generation of quantum magic (nonstabilizerness), a key resource for universal quantum computation: can a state with less initial magic overtake one with more and reach its asymptotic value sooner? Here, we uncover interaction-induced dephasing as a distinct mechanism for this magic Mpemba effect, requiring neither transport nor conventional thermalization. For tilted product states in an interacting $\ell$-bit model, a random-phase analysis predicts a reversal of the magic ordering: states with less initial magic attain higher saturated magic, independent of their spatial pattern. Exact simulations of the $\ell$-bit model and localized spin chains further show that these states also saturate earlier. We observe both features on IBM superconducting quantum processors. An effective $\ell$-bit implementation accesses long dephasing times at fixed circuit depth by encoding time in gate angles, while a microscopic spin model exhibits the reversal universally across initial patterns in the localized regime but only selectively in the ergodic regime. These results establish interaction-induced dephasing as a route to anomalous quantum-resource relaxation beyond transport-driven thermalizing dynamics.

Any commments are welcome!

Quantum Physics (quant-ph); Disordered Systems and Neural Networks (cond-mat.dis-nn)

arXiv:2610.08769 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2610.08769v1 [quant-ph] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2610.08769 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

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