Berry-like phases in structured atoms and molecules

POSTER

Abstract

Quantum mechanical phases arising from a periodically varying Hamiltonian are considered. These phases are derived from the eigenvalues of a stationary, ``dressed'' Hamiltonian that is able to treat internal atomic or molecular structure in addition to the time variation. In the limit of an adiabatic time variation, the usual Berry phase is recovered. For more rapid variation, nonadiabatic corrections to the Berry phase are recovered in perturbation theory, and their explicit dependence on internal structure emerges. Simple demonstrations of this formalism are given, to particles containing interacting spins, and to molecules in electric fields.

Authors

  • Edmund Meyer

    JILA

  • Aaron Leanhardt

    University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA, Applied Physics program, and Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan

  • Eric Cornell

    JILA

  • John Bohn

    JILA, University of Colorado, JILA, NIST and University of Colorado, JILA, JILA and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0440, USA