SciPost Submission Page
Prethermal inverse Mpemba effect
by Koudai Sugimoto, Tomotaka Kuwahara, Keiji Saito
Submission summary
| Authors (as registered SciPost users): | Koudai Sugimoto |
| Submission information | |
|---|---|
| Preprint Link: | scipost_202511_00068v1 (pdf) |
| Date submitted: | Nov. 26, 2025, 10:11 a.m. |
| Submitted by: | Koudai Sugimoto |
| Submitted to: | SciPost Physics |
| Ontological classification | |
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| Academic field: | Physics |
| Specialties: |
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| Approaches: | Theoretical, Computational |
The author(s) disclose that the following generative AI tools have been used in the preparation of this submission:
We used ChatGPT (GPT-5.1) to proofread the final manuscript.
Abstract
The inverse Mpemba effect is a counterintuitive phenomenon in which a system, initially in thermal equilibrium and prepared at different temperatures below that of the final equilibrium state, relaxes to the final state more rapidly when starting from a lower initial temperature. We extend this concept to the relaxation toward a prethermal state in driven isolated quantum systems. By examining a simple model that exhibits prethermalization, we demonstrate that this effect indeed manifests under periodic driving. We further discuss the realization of this phenomenon in a variety of systems within a unified theoretical framework.
Author indications on fulfilling journal expectations
- Provide a novel and synergetic link between different research areas.
- Open a new pathway in an existing or a new research direction, with clear potential for multi-pronged follow-up work
- Detail a groundbreaking theoretical/experimental/computational discovery
- Present a breakthrough on a previously-identified and long-standing research stumbling block