Geometric quantum phase and angles

J. Anandan*, Y. Aharonov

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

160 Scopus citations

Abstract

The geometric phase in quantum mechanics is formulated for charged particles in a gauge-invariant, geometric manner. It is then extended to an evolution resulting from a sequence of measurements as in the work of Pancharatnam and Aharonov and Vardi. Its close connection to the Feynman formulation of quantum mechanics is pointed out. The geometric angles, which are generalizations of the classical, adiabatic angles introduced by Hannay and the quantum, adiabatic angles introduced by Anandan and Stodolsky in their group-theoretic treatment of Berrys phase, are studied in quantum and classical physics. The geometric phase for a quantum spin in a magnetic field due to a second particle is obtained using the quantum reference frame defined by the latter. The question of whether the geometric phase and angles are local or nonlocal and their relationship to the electromagnetic and gravitational phases are also discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1863-1870
Number of pages8
JournalPhysical Review D
Volume38
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 1988

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Geometric quantum phase and angles'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this