Quantum Mpemba Effect in Long-Range Spin Systems
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 090402 – Published 5 March, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/52y5-8kl2
Abstract
One of the manifestations of the quantum Mpemba effect (QME) is that a tilted ferromagnet exhibits faster restoration of the spin-rotational symmetry after a quantum quench when starting from a larger tilt angle. This phenomenon has recently been observed experimentally in an ion trap that simulates a long-range spin chain. However, the underlying mechanism of the QME in the presence of long-range interactions remains unclear. Using the time-dependent spin-wave theory, we investigate the dynamical restoration of the spin-rotational symmetry and the QME in generic long-range spin systems. We show that quantum fluctuations of the magnetization drive the restoration of symmetry by melting the initial ferromagnetic order and are responsible for the QME. We find that this effect occurs across a wide parameter range in long-range systems, in contrast to its absence in some short-range counterparts.
