Zhang Jie, Xia Gang, Wu Chun-Wang, Chen Ting, Zhang Qian, Xie Yi, Su Wen-Bo, Wu Wei, Qiu Cheng-Wei, Chen Ping-Xing, Li Weibin, Jing Hui, Zhou Yan-Li
Institute for Quantum Science and Technology, College of Science, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, China.
Hunan Key Laboratory of Mechanism and technology of Quantum Information, Changsha, China.
Nat Commun. 2025 Jan 6;16(1):301. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-54303-0.
An ancient and counterintuitive phenomenon known as the Mpemba effect (water can cool faster when initially heated up) showcases the critical role of initial conditions in relaxation processes. How to realize and utilize this effect for speeding up relaxation is an important but challenging task in purely quantum system till now. Here, we experimentally study the strong Mpemba effect in a single trapped ion system in which an exponentially accelerated relaxation in time is observed by preparing an optimal quantum initial state with no excitation of the slowest decaying mode. Also, we demonstrate that the condition of realizing such effect coincides with the Liouvillian exceptional point, featuring the coalescence of both the eigenvalues and the eigenmodes of the systems. Our work provides an efficient strategy to engineer the dynamics of open quantum system, and suggests a link unexplored yet between the Mpemba effect and the non-Hermitian physics.
一种被称为姆潘巴效应（水在初始加热时冷却速度可能更快）的古老且违反直觉的现象，展示了初始条件在弛豫过程中的关键作用。迄今为止，如何在纯量子系统中实现并利用这种效应来加速弛豫是一项重要但具有挑战性的任务。在此，我们通过制备一个不激发最慢衰减模式的最优量子初始态，在单个囚禁离子系统中对强姆潘巴效应进行了实验研究，在此系统中观察到了随时间呈指数加速的弛豫。此外，我们证明实现这种效应的条件与刘维尔例外点一致，其特征是系统的本征值和本征模式发生合并。我们的工作提供了一种设计开放量子系统动力学的有效策略，并揭示了姆潘巴效应与非厄米物理之间尚未被探索的联系。
