geometric phase

geometric phase [‚jē·ə‚me·trik ′fāz]

(physics)

A unifying mathematical concept that describes the relation between the history of internal states of a system and the system's resulting orientation in space.

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Geometric phase

A unifying mathematical concept that describes the relation between the history of internal states of a system and the system's resulting orientation in space. Under various aspects, this concept occurs in geometry, astronomy, classical mechanics, and quantum theory. In geometry it is known as holonomy. In quantum theory it is known as Berry's phase, after M. Berry, who isolated the concept (which was already known in special cases) and explained its wide-ranging signi-ficance.

A system is envisioned whose possible states can be visualized as points in a suitable abstract space. At the same time, the system has some position or orientation in another space. A history of internal states can be represented by a curve in the first space; and the effect of this history on the disposition of the system, by a curve in the second space. The mapping between these two curves is described by the geometric phase. Especially interesting is the case when a closed curve (cycle) in the first space maps onto an open curve in the second, for then there is no net change in internal state, yet the disposition of the system with respect to the outside world is altered.

The power of the geometric phase ideas is that they make it possible, in complex dynamical problems, to find some simple universal regularities without having to solve the complete equations. Significant uses of these ideas include demonstrations of the fractional electric charge and quantum statistics of the quasiparticles in the quantum Hall effect, and of the occurrence of anomalies in quantum field theory. See Anyons, Hall effect, Quantum field theory