Observing the magic Mpemba effect in localized dynamics on a digital quantum computer
Abstract
The Mpemba effect challenges the intuition that states closer to equilibrium must relax faster. We ask whether an analogous magic-ordering reversal can occur in the generation of quantum magic (nonstabilizerness), a key resource for universal quantum computation: can a state with less initial magic overtake one with more and reach its asymptotic value sooner? Here, we uncover interaction-induced dephasing as a distinct mechanism for this magic Mpemba effect, requiring neither transport nor conventional thermalization. For tilted product states in an interacting ℓ-bit model, a random-phase analysis predicts a reversal of the magic ordering: states with less initial magic attain higher saturated magic, independent of their spatial pattern. Exact simulations of the ℓ-bit model and localized spin chains further show that these states also saturate earlier. We observe both features on IBM superconducting quantum processors. An effective ℓ-bit implementation accesses long dephasing times at fixed circuit depth by encoding time in gate angles, while a microscopic spin model exhibits the reversal universally across initial patterns in the localized regime but only selectively in the ergodic regime. These results establish interaction-induced dephasing as a route to anomalous quantum-resource relaxation beyond transport-driven thermalizing dynamics.
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BibTeX
@misc{li2026observing,
title = {{Observing the magic Mpemba effect in localized dynamics on a digital quantum computer}},
author = {Han-Ze Li and Xianquan Yan and Yi-Rui Zhang and Jian-Xin Zhong and Shuo Liu and Ching Hua Lee},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.08769},
eprint = {2610.08769},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.08769},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Observing the magic Mpemba effect in localized dynamics on a digital quantum computer
AU - Han-Ze Li
AU - Xianquan Yan
AU - Yi-Rui Zhang
AU - Jian-Xin Zhong
AU - Shuo Liu
AU - Ching Hua Lee
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.08769
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.08769
AB - The Mpemba effect challenges the intuition that states closer to equilibrium must relax faster. We ask whether an analogous magic-ordering reversal can occur in the generation of quantum magic (nonstabilizerness), a key resource for universal quantum computation: can a state with less initial magic overtake one with more and reach its asymptotic value sooner? Here, we uncover interaction-induced dephasing as a distinct mechanism for this magic Mpemba effect, requiring neither transport nor conventional thermalization. For tilted product states in an interacting ℓ-bit model, a random-phase analysis predicts a reversal of the magic ordering: states with less initial magic attain higher saturated magic, independent of their spatial pattern. Exact simulations of the ℓ-bit model and localized spin chains further show that these states also saturate earlier. We observe both features on IBM superconducting quantum processors. An effective ℓ-bit implementation accesses long dephasing times at fixed circuit depth by encoding time in gate angles, while a microscopic spin model exhibits the reversal universally across initial patterns in the localized regime but only selectively in the ergodic regime. These results establish interaction-induced dephasing as a route to anomalous quantum-resource relaxation beyond transport-driven thermalizing dynamics.
ER -