Anomaly to Resource: The Mpemba Effect in Quantum Thermometry
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arXiv
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| Autores principales: | , , |
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| Formato: | Preprint |
| Publicado: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866918278234898432 |
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| author | Chattopadhyay, Pritam Santos, Jonas F. G. Misra, Avijit |
| author_facet | Chattopadhyay, Pritam Santos, Jonas F. G. Misra, Avijit |
| contents | Quantum thermometry provides a key capability for nanoscale devices and quantum technologies, but most existing strategies rely on probes initialized near equilibrium. This equilibrium paradigm imposes intrinsic limitations: sensitivity is tied to long-time thermalization and often cannot be improved in fast, noisy, or nonstationary settings. In contrast, the \textit{Mpemba effect}, the counterintuitive phenomenon where hotter states relax faster than colder ones, has mostly been viewed as a thermodynamic anomaly. Here, we bridge this gap by proving that Mpemba-type inversions generically yield a finite-time enhancement of the quantum Fisher information (QFI) for temperature estimation, thereby converting an anomalous relaxation effect into a concrete metrological resource. Through explicit analyses of two-level and $Λ$-level probes coupled to bosonic baths, we show that nonequilibrium initializations can transiently outperform both equilibrium strategies and colder states, realizing a \emph{metrological Mpemba effect}. Our results establish anomalous relaxation as a general design principle for nonequilibrium quantum thermometry, enabling ultrafast and nanoscale sensing protocols that exploit, rather than avoid, transient dynamics. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_05046 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Anomaly to Resource: The Mpemba Effect in Quantum Thermometry Chattopadhyay, Pritam Santos, Jonas F. G. Misra, Avijit Quantum Physics Quantum thermometry provides a key capability for nanoscale devices and quantum technologies, but most existing strategies rely on probes initialized near equilibrium. This equilibrium paradigm imposes intrinsic limitations: sensitivity is tied to long-time thermalization and often cannot be improved in fast, noisy, or nonstationary settings. In contrast, the \textit{Mpemba effect}, the counterintuitive phenomenon where hotter states relax faster than colder ones, has mostly been viewed as a thermodynamic anomaly. Here, we bridge this gap by proving that Mpemba-type inversions generically yield a finite-time enhancement of the quantum Fisher information (QFI) for temperature estimation, thereby converting an anomalous relaxation effect into a concrete metrological resource. Through explicit analyses of two-level and $Λ$-level probes coupled to bosonic baths, we show that nonequilibrium initializations can transiently outperform both equilibrium strategies and colder states, realizing a \emph{metrological Mpemba effect}. Our results establish anomalous relaxation as a general design principle for nonequilibrium quantum thermometry, enabling ultrafast and nanoscale sensing protocols that exploit, rather than avoid, transient dynamics. |
| title | Anomaly to Resource: The Mpemba Effect in Quantum Thermometry |
| topic | Quantum Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.05046 |