Nonequilibrium shortcuts and anomalous thermal relaxations: the Mpemba effect
Gianluca Teza (MPIPKS Dresden)
Most of our intuition about the behavior of physical systems is shaped by observations at or near thermal equilibrium. However, even a phenomenon as basic as a thermal quench leads to states far from any thermal equilibrium, where counterintuitive, anomalous, effects can occur. A prime example of anomalous thermal relaxation is the Mpemba effect a phenomenon in which a system prepared at a hot temperature cools down to the temperature of the cold environment faster than an identical system prepared at a warm temperature.
In this seminar, I will review the phenomenology of this and related anomalous relaxation effects, in which nonmonotonic relaxation times act as the common denominator. With a focus on Ising systems, I will provide some insight on the physical mechanisms that enable the emergence of these effects. I will show how they can survive boundary and even arbitrarily weak couplings to the thermal bath, highlighting the role played by equilibrium and dynamical features.
If time allows, I will showcase some experimental applications of these out-of-equilibrium effects in quantum simulators.
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