Colloquium DFA: Michael Berry
Title: “Geometric phases old and new”
Speaker: Michael Berry, University of Bristol
When and Where: 08-06-2022 | 16:00 | Aula Rostagni - Zoom Meeting and YouTube streaming
Website https://indico.dfa.unipd.it/event/458/
Registration is mandatory to follow the colloquium in presence.
Indico link: https://indico.dfa.unipd.it/event/458/
Zoom Link: https://unipd.link/ColloquiumDFA-08-06-2022
YouTube Link: https://unipd.link/AulaRostagniUniPadovaDFA
Abstract: The waves that describe systems in quantum physics can carry information about how their environment has been altered, for example by forces acting on them. This effect is the geometric phase. It occurs in the optics of polarised light, where it goes back to the 1830s; it influences wave interference; and it provides insight into the spin-statistics relation for identical quantum particles. The underlying mathematics is geometric: parallel transport, explaining how falling cats turn, and how to park a car. Incorporating the back-reaction of the geometric phase on the dynamics of the changing environment exposes an unsolved problem: how can a system be separated from a slowly-varying environment? The concept has a tangled history.
