Entanglement asymmetry and quantum Mpemba effect for Kramers-Wannier duality

Abstract

The Kramers-Wannier duality is the prototypical example of a non-invertible symmetry, yet little is known about its fate away from criticality and out of equilibrium. We introduce the Kramers-Wannier entanglement asymmetry, a quantum-information measure that quantifies the breaking of this non-invertible symmetry in the transverse-field Ising chain. We first investigate its equilibrium properties, showing that it exhibits a striking crossover between the ordered and disordered phases together with a pronounced dip at the critical point that becomes increasingly sharp with subsystem size. We then study quantum quenches from both gapped phases to criticality and show that the Kramers-Wannier entanglement asymmetry decays to zero, signaling the dynamical restoration of the non-invertible symmetry. Remarkably, we uncover the emergence of a quantum Mpemba effect: under suitable conditions, states initially farther from equilibrium restore the Kramers-Wannier symmetry faster than states prepared closer to it. We provide both analytical and numerical evidence for this phenomenon and identify the mechanism responsible for its occurrence. Our work establishes entanglement asymmetry as a powerful probe of non-invertible symmetries beyond equilibrium and opens new perspectives on the dynamics of dualities in quantum many-body systems.