Mpemba-Like Behavior in Carbon Nanotube Resonators

Surprising Mpemba-like dissipation is observed during computer simulated ring-down of the flexural modes of a single-walled carbon nanotube resonator. Vibrations are made to decay to zero faster by adding a larger initial excitation. We liken this counterintuitive observation to the well-known Mpemba effect in which hot water freezes faster that cold water. In both cases, the system seems to pose a memory of its thermal history; a paradoxical result that is reconciled if the dissipative state of the system is not described uniquely by the system’s average temperature. A vibrational mode projection algorithm is used to track the dissipation pathway, showing that dissipation is dependent strongly on the development of an athermal phonon population. The implications of Mpemba-like behavior in more general, and continuously driven, nanomechanical systems are discussed.