Mass-induced Mpemba effect in a polymer-bead system

Hosung Kwak; Yongjoo Baek; Hawoong Jeong

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arXiv · 2607.15266

Mass-induced Mpemba effect in a polymer-bead system

Hosung Kwak·Yongjoo Baek·Hawoong Jeong

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Abstract

We propose a physically motivated model in which the Mpemba effect is induced by the system's inertia. The model describes a polymer undergoing a denaturation transition whose force-extension curve contains a weak-force plateau that slows relaxation. In the presence of inertia, a farther initial state can reach and cross the plateau sooner, producing the Mpemba effect. Increasing the bead mass broadens the range of initial conditions over which this mechanism operates. A similar mechanism also generates the inverse Mpemba effect.

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Hosung Kwak, Yongjoo Baek, Hawoong Jeong. 2026-07-16. Mass-induced Mpemba effect in a polymer-bead system. https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.15266

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