Author(s): Xiang Zhan, Huixia Gao, Lei Xiao, and Peng Xue Relaxation does not always reward patience: under certain conditions, a system initially farther from equilibrium can relax faster than one initially closer, a counterintuitive phenomenon known as the Mpemba effect. A conceptually transparent mechanism underlying this effect is the strong Mpemba eff… [Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 170403] Published Thu Oct 22, 2026