(A)Symmetric Complexity and the Quantum Mpemba Effect
Abstract
The Quantum Mpemba Effect (QME) -- the counter-intuitive phenomenon where states further from equilibrium can relax faster than those closer to it -- challenges standard expectations of quantum thermalization. In this work, we introduce Krylov complexity as a sensitive diagnostic for the QME. We show that Krylov spread complexity encodes the asymmetry essential to the effect, and we define a new class of projective (a)symmetric complexities that sharpen this connection. Strikingly, the structure of these projective complexities at the initial moment () already carries predictive power for the onset of Mpemba-like inversions, obviating the need for explicit time evolution. Our results suggest that the geometry of states in Krylov space captures deep information about non-monotonic relaxation and provides a powerful framework for diagnosing and anticipating anomalous thermalization phenomena in quantum systems.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2509.08078,
title = {(A)Symmetric Complexity and the Quantum Mpemba Effect},
author = {Cameron Beetar and Jeff Murugan and Hendrik J. R. van Zyl},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.08078},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
31+20 pages