Understanding relaxation in isolated quantum many-body systems remains a central challenge. Recently, the quantum Mpemba effect (QME), a counterintuitive relaxation phenomenon, has attracted considerable attention and has been extensively studied in systems with global symmetries. Here, we study the QME in gauge theories with massive local gauge symmetries. In the lattice Schwinger model, we demonstrate that the gauge structure of the reduced density matrix of a subsystem is entirely determined by the initial state and remain unchanged during the time evolution. We then investigate whether gauge symmetry can be dynamically restored following a symmetric quench. Analytical and numerical results show that when the Maxwell term is zero, gauge symmetry restoration fails due to the emergence of a peculiar conservation law. However, for any finite Maxwell term, subsystem gauge symmetry is restored in the thermodynamic limit. Based on these results, we systematically construct a families of initial states exhibiting the QME. We further explore the QME in the quantum link model-a truncated lattice Schwinger model, which has been realized in experiments. Moreover, we propose an experimentally accessible order parameter that correctly captures the QME. Our work demonstrates the generality of the quantum Mpemba effect even in the local gauge symmetries, and are directly relevant to ongoing quantum simulation experiments of gauge theories.
Understanding relaxation in isolated quantum many-body systems remains a central challenge. Recently, the quantum Mpemba effect (QME), a counterintuitive relaxation phenomenon, has attracted considerable attention and has been extensively studied in systems with global symmetries. Here, we study the QME in gauge theories with massive local gauge symmetries. In the lattice Schwinger model, we demonstrate that the gauge structure of the reduced density matrix of a subsystem is entirely determined by the initial state and remain unchanged during the time evolution. We then investigate whether gauge symmetry can be dynamically restored following a symmetric quench. Analytical and numerical results show that when the Maxwell term is zero, gauge symmetry restoration fails due to the emergence of a peculiar conservation law. However, for any finite Maxwell term, subsystem gauge symmetry is restored in the thermodynamic limit. Based on these results, we systematically construct a families of initial states exhibiting the QME. We further explore the QME in the quantum link model-a truncated lattice Schwinger model, which has been realized in experiments. Moreover, we propose an experimentally accessible order parameter that correctly captures the QME. Our work demonstrates the generality of the quantum Mpemba effect even in the local gauge symmetries, and are directly relevant to ongoing quantum simulation experiments of gauge theories.
The Mpemba effect, where a system initially farther from equilibrium relaxes faster than one closer to equilibrium, has been extensively studied in classical systems and recently explored in quantum settings. While previous studies of the quantum Mpemba effect (QME) have largely focused on isolated systems with global symmetries, we argue that the QME is ubiquitous in generic, nonintegrable many-body systems lacking such symmetries, including U(1) charge conservation, spatial symmetries, and even energy conservation. Using paradigmatic models such as the quantum Ising model with transverse and longitudinal fields, we show that the QME can be understood through the energy density of initial states and their inverse participation ratio in the energy eigenbasis. Our findings provide a unified framework for the QME, linking it with classical thermal relaxation.
The quantum Mpemba effect (QME) describes the counterintuitive phenomenon where a system initially further from equilibrium relaxes faster than one closer to it. Specifically, the QME associated with symmetry restoration has been extensively investigated across integrable, ergodic, and disordered localized systems. However, its fate in disorder-free ergodicity-breaking settings, such as the Stark many-body localized (Stark-MBL) phase, remains an open question. Here, we explore the dynamics of local U(1) symmetry restoration in a Stark-MBL XXZ spin-12 chain, using the Rényi-2 entanglement asymmetry (EA) as a probe. Using an analytical operator-string expansion supported by numerical simulations, we demonstrate that the QME transitions from an initial-state-dependent anomaly in the ergodic phase to a universal feature in the Stark-MBL regime. Moreover, the Mpemba time scales exponentially with the subsystem size, even in the absence of global transport, and is governed by high-order off-resonant processes. We attribute this robust inversion to a Stark-induced hierarchy of relaxation channels that fundamentally constrains the effective Hilbert space dimension. The findings pave the way for utilizing tunable potentials to engineer and control anomalous relaxation timescales in quantum technologies without reliance on quenched disorder.
Symmetry plays a fundamental role in many-body systems, both in and out of equilibrium. The quantum Mpemba effect (QME)—a phenomenon where systems initially farther from equilibrium can thermalize faster—can be understood in terms of how rapidly a symmetry, broken by initial conditions, is dynamically restored. In this work, we study the QME in a one-dimensional spin-1/2 XYZ model with power-law decaying interactions in the presence of a magnetic field. In the prethermal regime generated by large field strengths, the system develops a continuous U(1) symmetry, enabling the QME to emerge. However, due to the Hohenberg-Mermin-Wagner theorem, the QME can only arise when interactions are sufficiently short-ranged. This leads to an interplay between the external field, interaction range, and dynamical symmetry restoration. We systematically explore this interplay and analyze the dependence of the QME on the effective temperature set by the initial state. Our results demonstrate the tunability of the QME via long-range interactions, which can be probed in experimental platforms of trapped ions, polar molecules, and NV centers.
Entanglement asymmetry, which serves as a diagnostic tool for symmetry breaking and a proxy for thermalization, has recently been proposed and studied in the context of symmetry restoration for quantum many-body systems undergoing a quench. In this Letter, we investigate symmetry restoration in various symmetric random quantum circuits, particularly focusing on the U(1) symmetry case. In contrast to nonsymmetric random circuits where the U(1) symmetry of a small subsystem can always be restored at late times, we reveal that symmetry restoration can fail in U(1)-symmetric circuits for certain weak symmetry-broken initial states in finite-size systems. In the early-time dynamics, we observe an intriguing quantum Mpemba effect implying that symmetry is restored faster when the initial state is more asymmetric. Furthermore, we also investigate the entanglement asymmetry dynamics for SU(2) and Z_{2} symmetric circuits and identify the presence and absence of the quantum Mpemba effect for the corresponding symmetries, respectively. A unified understanding of these results is provided through the lens of quantum thermalization with conserved charges.
Abstract Non-equilibrium dynamics have become a central research focus, exemplified by the counterintuitive Mpemba effect where initially hotter systems can cool faster than colder ones. Studied extensively in both classical and quantum regimes, this phenomenon reveals diverse and complex behaviors across different systems. This review provides a concise overview of the quantum Mpemba effect (QME), specifically emphasizing its connection to symmetry breaking and restoration in closed quantum many-body systems. We begin by outlining the classical Mpemba effect and its quantum counterparts, summarizing key findings. Subsequently, we introduce entanglement asymmetry and charge variance as key metrics for probing the QME from symmetry perspectives. Leveraging these tools, we analyze the early- and late-time dynamics of these quantities under Hamiltonian evolution and random unitary circuits. We conclude by discussing significant challenges and promising avenues for future research.
Monitoring a quantum system can profoundly alter its dynamical properties, leading to non-trivial emergent phenomena. In this work, we demonstrate that dynamical measurements strongly influence the evolution of symmetry in many-body quantum systems. Specifically, we demonstrate that monitored systems governed by non-Hermitian dynamics exhibit a quantum Mpemba effect, where systems with stronger initial asymmetry relax faster to a symmetric state. Crucially, this phenomenon is purely measurement-induced: in the absence of measurements, we find states where the corresponding unitary evolution does not display any Mpemba effect. Furthermore, we uncover a novel measurement-induced symmetry restoration mechanism: below a critical measurement rate, the symmetry remains broken, but beyond a threshold, it is fully restored in the thermodynamic limit-along with the emergence of the quantum Mpemba effect.