Quantum Mpemba effects in many-body localization systems

Abstract: The nonequilibrium dynamics of quantum many-body systems have attracted growing attention due to various intriguing phenomena absent in equilibrium physics. One famous example is the quantum Mpemba effect, where the subsystem symmetry is restored faster under a symmetric quench from a more asymmetric initial state. The quantum Mpemba effect has been extensively studied in integrable and chaotic systems. In this Letter, we investigate symmetry restoration and quantum Mpemba effect in many-body localized systems with various initial states. We reveal that the symmetry can still be fully restored in many-body localization phases without approaching thermal equilibrium. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the presence of the quantum Mpemba effect is universal for any initial tilted product state, contrasting to the cases in the chaotic systems where the presence of the quantum Mpemba effect relies on the choice of initial states. We also provide a theoretical analysis of symmetry restoration and quantum Mpemba effects with the help of the effective model for many-body localization. This Letter not only sheds light on extending the quantum Mpemba effect to more non-equilibrium settings but also contributes to a deeper understanding of the many-body localization.