Time-delayed Newton's law of cooling with a finite-rate thermal quench: Impact on the Mpemba and Kovacs effects

The Mpemba and Kovacs effects are two notable memory phenomena observed in nonequilibrium relaxation processes. In a recent study [Phys.~Rev.~E $\mathbf{\text{109}}$, 044149 (2024)], these effects were analyzed within the framework of the time-delayed Newton’s law of cooling under the assumption of instantaneous temperature quenches. Here, the analysis is extended to incorporate finite-rate quenches, characterized by a nonzero quench duration $\sigma$. The results indicate that a genuine Mpemba effect is absent under finite-rate quenches if both samples experience the same thermal environment during the quenching process. However, if $\sigma$ remains sufficiently small, the deviations in the thermal environment stay within an acceptable range, allowing the Mpemba effect to persist with a slightly enhanced magnitude. In contrast, the Kovacs effect is significantly amplified, with the transient hump in the temperature evolution becoming more pronounced as both the waiting time and $\sigma$ increase. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating finite-time effects in nonequilibrium thermal relaxation models and offer a more realistic perspective for experimental studies.