arXiv:quant-ph/0005072 · Physical Review Letters
Geometric Phases for Mixed States in Interferometry
Erik Sjöqvist, Arun Kumar Pati, ARTUR K. EKERT, Jeeva S. Anandan, Marie Ericsson, Daniel K. L. Oi, Vlatko Vedral
Abstract
We provide a physical prescription based on interferometry for introducing the total phase of a mixed state undergoing unitary evolution, which has been an elusive concept in the past. We define the parallel transport condition that provides a connection form for obtaining the geometric phase for mixed states. The expression for the geometric phase for mixed state reduces to well known formulas in the pure state case when a system undergoes noncyclic and unitary quantum evolution.