Journal of Mathematical Physics
Direct calculation of the Berry phase for spins and helicities
Thomas F. Jordan
Abstract
The Berry phase for spins or helicities is calculated in a simple way in which it appears more as a property of the spin states than of the Hamiltonian. The calculation applies to nonrelativistic particles or relativistic particles with either zero or nonzero mass. A simple way to see how the Berry phase corresponds to rotation of the electric and magnetic fields of plane-polarized light is also pointed out.