Thermalization packets and optimal ice cubes

Abstract

Relaxation toward equilibrium is usually accelerated by modifying the environment or by cooling a system further from equilibrium. Here we introduce a distinct strategy: thermalization packets, auxiliary systems prepared in advance and later coupled to a target system to accelerate its relaxation toward a prescribed thermal state. Thus, thermalization packets trade preparation effort for reduced waiting time. When the objective is cooling, we colloquially refer to such packets as ice cubes. Unlike ordinary coolants, thermalization packets are characterized not only by their temperature or heat capacity, but also by their microscopic preparation. We define perfect and optimal packets by their ability to suppress the slowest relaxation mode of the coupled dynamics: perfect packets eliminate it entirely, while optimal packets minimize its amplitude. We show that, under generic conditions, perfect packets exist among thermal preparations near equilibrium. Surprisingly, for asymptotic relaxation, the optimum among thermal preparations is generally not the coldest packet: cooling the packet beyond the slow-mode-cancelling optimum restores a nonzero slow mode and can therefore slow relaxation, yielding a packet analog of the Mpemba effect. We demonstrate the concept in exactly solvable Metropolis dynamics, a minimal two-qubit model, and a boundary-coupled interacting Ising-spin system. We also extend the framework to packets optimized for finite readout times. Finally, we show that the perfect-packet contour can connect the trivial bath-equilibrium point to a nontrivial strong Mpemba or strong inverse-Mpemba point.