D. M. Tong

Kinematic approach to the mixed state geometric phase in nonunitary evolution

A kinematic approach to the geometric phase for mixed quantal states in nonunitary evolution is proposed. This phase is manifestly gauge invariant and can be experimentally tested in interferometry. It leads to well-known results when the evolution is unitary.

Quantitative conditions do not guarantee the validity of the adiabatic approximation.

In this Letter, we point out that the widely used quantitative conditions in the adiabatic theorem are insufficient in that they do not guarantee the validity of the adiabatic approximation. We also reexamine the inconsistency issue raised by Marzlin and Sanders [Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 160408 (2004)] and elucidate the underlying cause.

Geometric phases for nondegenerate and degenerate mixed states

This paper focuses on the geometric phase of general mixed states under unitary evolution. Here we analyze both nondegenerate as well as degenerate states. Starting with the nondegenerate case, we show that the usual procedure of subtracting the dynamical phase from the total phase to yield the geometric phase for pure states, does not hold for mixed states. To this end, we furnish an expression for the geometric phase that is gauge invariant. The parallelity conditions are shown to be easily derivable from this expression. We also extend our formalism to states that exhibit degeneracies. Here with the holonomy taking on a non-Abelian character, we provide an expression for the geometric phase that is manifestly gauge invariant. As in the case of the nondegenerate case, the form also displays the parallelity conditions clearly. Finally, we furnish explicit examples of the geometric phases for both the nondegenerate as well as degenerate mixed states.

Sufficiency criterion for the validity of the adiabatic approximation

We examine the quantitative condition which has been widely used as a criterion for the adiabatic approximation but was recently found insufficient. Our results indicate that the usual quantitative condition is sufficient for a special class of quantum mechanical systems. For general systems, it may not be sufficient, but it, along with additional conditions, is sufficient. The usual quantitative condition and the additional conditions constitute a general criterion for the validity of the adiabatic approximation, which is applicable to all N-dimensional quantum systems. Moreover, we illustrate the use of the general quantitative criterion in some physical models.

Geometric phase for entangled states of two spin-1/2 particles in rotating magnetic field

The geometric phase for states of two spin-1/2 particles in rotating magnetic field is calculated, in particular, the noncyclic and cyclic non-adiabatic phases for the general case are explicitly derived and discussed. We find that the cyclic geometric phase for the entangled state can always be written as a sum of the phases of the two particles respectively; the same cannot be said for the noncyclic phase. We also investigate the geometric phase of mixed state of one particle in a biparticle system, and we find that the geometric phase for one subsystem of an entangled system is always affected by another subsystem of the entangled system.

Relation between geometric phases of entangled bipartite systems and their subsystems

This paper focuses on the geometric phase of entangled states of bipartite systems under bilocal unitary evolution. We investigate the relation between the geometric phase of the system and those of the subsystems. It is shown that (1) the geometric phase of cyclic entangled states with nondegenerate eigenvalues can always be decomposed into a sum of weighted nonmodular pure state phases pertaining to the separable components of the Schmidt decomposition, although the same cannot be said in the noncyclic case, and (2) the geometric phase of the mixed state of one subsystem is generally different from that of the entangled state even if the other subsystem is kept fixed, but the two phases are the same when the evolution operator satisfies conditions where each component in the Schmidt decomposition is parallel transported.

Geometric phase in open systems : Beyond the Markov approximation and weak-coupling limit

Beyond the quantum Markov approximation and the weak-coupling limit, we present a general theory to calculate the geometric phase for open systems with and without conserved energy. As an example, the geometric phase for a two-level system coupling both dephasingly and dissipatively to its environment is calculated. Comparison with the results from quantum trajectory analysis is presented and discussed.

Adiabatic approximation in open systems: an alternative approach

This is an Author’s Pre-print of an Article published in Yi, X. X., Tong, D. M., Kwek, L. C., & Oh, C. H. (2007). Adiabatic approximation in open systems: an alternative approach. Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, 40(2), 281. , as published in the Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics,, 2013,

Operator-sum representation of time-dependent density operators and its applications

We show that any arbitrary time-dependent density operator of an open system can always be described in terms of an operator-sum representation (Kraus representation) regardless of its initial condition and the path of its evolution in the state space, and we provide a general expression of Kraus operators for arbitrary time-dependent density operator of an N-dimensional system. Moreover, applications of our result are illustrated through several examples.

A note on the geometric phase in adiabatic approximation

The adiabatic theorem shows that the instantaneous eigenstate is a good approximation of the exact solution for a quantum system in adiabatic evolution. One may therefore expect that the geometric phase calculated by using the eigenstate should be also a good approximation of exact geometric phase. However, we find that the former phase may differ appreciably from the latter if the evolution time is large enough.