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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Stochastic resetting versus thermal equilibration: Faster relaxation, different destination

Nir Sherf and Rémi Goerlich

Barak Hirshberg*

Yael Roichman†

  • Raymond & Beverly Sackler School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel; Center for Computational Molecular and Materials Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel; and The Center for Physics and Chemistry of Living Systems, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel

  • Raymond & Beverly Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel; Raymond & Beverly Sackler School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel; and The Center for Physics and Chemistry of Living Systems, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel

  • *Contact author: hirshb@tauex.tau.ac.il
  • †Contact author: roichman@tauex.tau.ac.il
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, L022028 – Published 14 May, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/4mtb-65my

Abstract

Stochastic resetting is known for its ability to accelerate search processes and induce nonequilibrium steady states. Here, we compare the relaxation times and resulting steady states of resetting and thermal relaxation for Brownian motion in a harmonic potential. We show that resetting always converges faster than thermal equilibration, but to a different steady state. The acceleration and the shape of the steady state are governed by a single dimensionless parameter that depends on the resetting rate, the viscosity, and the stiffness of the potential. We observe a trade-off between relaxation speed and the extent of spatial exploration as a function of this dimensionless parameter. Moreover, resetting relaxes faster even when resetting to positions arbitrarily far from the potential minimum.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, L022028– Published 14 May, 2026
  • Received 25 November 2025
  • Accepted 25 April 2026
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