The Mpemba effect refers to faster relaxation of states that are initially farther from equilibrium, yet its characterization is often tied to a chosen distance or resource measure. We introduce resource-Markovianity, an extended concept of quantum Markovianity to quantum resource theories, and formulate the resource Mpemba effect operationally as the breaking of resource-Markovianity by a relaxation operation. This yields a measure-independent operational characterization of resource Mpemba effects in general resource theories, together with quantitative characterizations based on resource-non-Markovianity measures. We illustrate the framework with the Mpemba effect for distinguishability of states, due to its relation to quantum Markovianity, and with the thermomajorization Mpemba effect from an operational perspective. These results reveal a deep interplay between quantum resources, non-Markovianity, and the Mpemba effect.
The Mpemba effect refers to faster relaxation of states that are initially farther from equilibrium, yet its characterization is often tied to a chosen distance or resource measure. We introduce resource-Markovianity, an extended concept of quantum Markovianity to quantum resource theories, and formulate the resource Mpemba effect operationally as the breaking of resource-Markovianity by a relaxation operation. This yields a measure-independent operational characterization of resource Mpemba effects in general resource theories, together with quantitative characterizations based on resource-non-Markovianity measures. We illustrate the framework with the Mpemba effect for distinguishability of states, due to its relation to quantum Markovianity, and with the thermomajorization Mpemba effect from an operational perspective. These results reveal a deep interplay between quantum resources, non-Markovianity, and the Mpemba effect.
Since its rediscovery in the twentieth century, the Mpemba effect, where a far-from-equilibrium state may relax faster than a state closer to equilibrium, has been extensively studied in classical systems and has recently received attention in quantum systems. Many theories explaining this counter-intuitive behavior in classical systems rely on memory effects. However, in quantum systems, the relation between the Mpemba effect and memory has remained unexplored. In this Letter, we consider general non-Markovian open quantum systems and reveal new classes of quantum Mpemba effects, with no analog in Markovian quantum dynamics. Generically, open quantum dynamics possess a finite memory time and a unique steady state. Because of non-Markovian dynamics, even if the system is initialized in the steady state it can take a long time to relax back. We find other initial states that reach the steady state much faster. Most notably, we demonstrate that there can be an initial state in which the system reaches the steady state within the finite memory time itself, giving the fastest possible relaxation to stationarity. We verify the effect for quantum dot systems coupled to electronic reservoirs in equilibrium and nonequilibrium setups at weak, intermediate and strong coupling. Our Letter provides new insights into the rich physics underlying accelerated relaxation in quantum systems.
The quantum Mpemba effect refers to the counterintuitive phenomenon in which a system initially farther from equilibrium relaxes faster than one prepared closer to it. Several mechanisms have been identified in open quantum systems to explain this behavior, including the strong Mpemba effect, non-Markovian memory, and initial system-reservoir entanglement. Here, we unveil a distinct mechanism rooted in the non-normal nature of the Liouvillian superoperator in Markovian dynamics. When the Liouvillian's eigenmodes are non-orthogonal, transient interference between decaying modes can induce anomalous early-time behavior-such as delayed thermalization or transient freezing-even though asymptotic decay rates remain unchanged. This differs fundamentally from strong Mpemba effects, which hinge on suppressed overlap with slow-decaying modes. We demonstrate this mechanism using a waveguide quantum electrodynamics model, where quantum emitters interact with the photonic modes of a one-dimensional waveguide. The directional and radiative nature of these couplings naturally introduces non-normality into the system's dynamics. As a result, certain initial states-despite being closer to equilibrium-can exhibit slower relaxation at short times. This work reveals a previously unexplored and universal source of Mpemba-like behavior in memoryless quantum systems, expanding the theoretical framework for anomalous relaxation and opening new avenues for control in engineered quantum platforms.
The Mpemba effect originally referred to the observation that, under certain thermalizing dynamics, initially hotter samples can cool faster than colder ones. This effect has since been generalized to other anomalous relaxation behaviors even beyond classical domains, such as symmetry restoration in quantum systems. This work demonstrates that resource theories, widely employed in information theory, provide a unified organizing principle to frame Mpemba physics. We show how the conventional thermal Mpemba effect arises naturally from the resource theory of athermality, while its symmetry-restoring counterpart is fully captured by the resource theories of asymmetry. Leveraging the framework of modes of asymmetry, we demonstrate that the Mpemba effect due to symmetry restoration is governed by the initial overlap with the slowest symmetry-restoring mode, mirroring the role of the slowest Liouvillian eigenmode in thermal Mpemba dynamics. Through this resource-theoretical formalism, we uncover the connection between these seemingly disparate effects and show that the dynamics of thermalization naturally splits into a symmetry-respecting and a symmetry-breaking term.
The Mpemba effect, in which a system farther from equilibrium relaxes faster than one closer to it, defies the intuition of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. Here, we introduce a general framework to unambiguously witness this phenomenon based on a single observable defined for Markovian open quantum systems. The Mpemba observable bypasses full state tomography, offering utility for state preparation and thermal task optimization. We illustrate our method using local magnetization as a Mpemba signature, applying it to a qubit under generalized amplitude damping.
The Mpemba effect is a counterintuitive physical phenomenon where a hot system cools faster than a warm one. In recent years, theoretical analyses of the Mpemba effect have been developed for microscopic systems and experimentally verified. However, the conventional theory relies on a specific choice of distance measure to quantify relaxation speed, leading to several theoretical ambiguities. In this Letter, we derive a rigorous quantification of the Mpemba effect based on thermomajorization theory, referred to as the thermomajorization Mpemba effect. This approach resolves all existing ambiguities and provides a unification of the conventional Mpemba effect across all monotone measures. Furthermore, we demonstrate the generality of the thermomajorization Mpemba effect for Markovian dynamics, rigorously proving that it can occur in any temperature regime with fixed energy levels.
We investigate the quantum Mpemba effect in the relaxation of open quantum systems whose effective dynamics is described by Davies maps. We introduce a class of unitary transformations constructed from permutation matrices that, when applied to an initial state, (i) suppress the slowest decaying modes of the nonunitary dynamics and (ii) maximize the state's distinguishability from the steady state. The first condition ensures exponentially faster convergence to equilibrium, while the second implies that a quantum system initially further from equilibrium can approach it more rapidly than one that starts closer. This protocol thus realizes a genuine Mpemba effect, and its simulation requires low computational effort. We prove that, for any initial state, there exists a permutation matrix that maximizes its distance from equilibrium with respect to a chosen information-theoretic distinguishability measure. We illustrate our findings for a two-level system, as well as for the nonunitary dynamics of the transverse-field Ising chain and the XXZ chain, each weakly coupled to a bosonic thermal bath. In these cases, the quantum Mpemba effect is demonstrated using the Hilbert-Schmidt distance, quantum relative entropy, and trace distance. Overall, our results provide a versatile framework for engineering a genuine quantum Mpemba effect in Markovian open quantum systems.