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Hysteresis-driven radiative Mpemba effect in phase-change nanostructures

F. Herz*

  • *Contact author: florian.herz@uol.de
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Phys. Rev. B 114, 235406 – Published 6 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/hnjl-fwl7

Abstract

The Mpemba effect states that initially hotter systems cool faster than colder ones. While known in convective, conductive, and quantum systems, its radiative analog is unexplored. Here, this anomaly is realized via phase-change hysteresis of a VO2 nanoparticle near a SiC substrate. After analytically deriving an onset condition, the phase space is mapped. Crucially, latent heat acts as a thermal buffer enabling both ordinary and inverse effects. Near-field coupling governs the relaxation time and enables a passive effect where memory is stored externally via substrate reflection.

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Phys. Rev. B 114, 235406– Published 6 October, 2026
  • Received 21 June 2026
  • Revised 11 September 2026
  • Accepted 23 September 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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