Anomaly to Resource: The Mpemba Effect in Quantum Thermometry
- URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2601.05046v1
- Date: Thu, 08 Jan 2026 15:51:47 GMT
- Title: Anomaly to Resource: The Mpemba Effect in Quantum Thermometry
- Authors: Pritam Chattopadhyay, Jonas F. G. Santos, Avijit Misra,
- Abstract summary: We show that nonequilibrium quantum thermometry can transiently outperform both equilibrium strategies and colder states.<n>Our results establish anomalous relaxation as a general design principle for nonequilibrium quantum thermometry.
- Score: 0.0
- License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Abstract: 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.
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