Berry phase effects on electronic properties

Geometric phase has found wide applications in physics, and has emerged as a unifying concept in describing and predicting electronic properties in solids. In this talk, I will review recent advances on Berry phase effects in insulators, metals, and semiconductors, with topics covering dielectric, magnetic, and transport properties. I will also discuss non-abealian generalization of the geometric phase concept and applications in spin transport. \newline \newline [1]. D. Xiao, J. Shi, and Q. Niu, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{95}, 137204 (2005); \newline [2]. D. Xiao, Y. Yao, Z. Fang, and Q. Niu, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{97}, 026603 (2006).; \newline [3]. D. Culcer, Y.G. Yao, and Q. Niu, Phys. Rev. B \textbf{72}, 085110 (2005).