Berry phase and adiabaticity of a spin diffusing in a nonuniform magnetic field

Abstract

An electron spin moving adiabatically in a strong, spatially nonuniform magnetic field accumulates a geometric phase or Berry phase, which might be observable as a conductance oscillation in a mesoscopic ring. Two contradicting theories exist for how strong the magnetic field should be to ensure adiabaticity if the motion is diffusive. To resolve this controversy, we study the effect of a nonuniform magnetic field on the spin polarization and on the weak-localization effect. The diffusion equation for the Cooperon is solved exactly. Adiabaticity requires that the spin-precession time is short compared to the elastic scattering time---it is not sufficient that it is short compared to the diffusion time around the ring. This strong condition severely complicates the experimental observation.