Geometric phase via adiabatic manipulations of the environment

Abstract

We show that geometric phases may be generated in a quantum system subject to noise by adiabatic manipulations of the fluctuating fields, e.g., by variation of the system-environment coupling. For a two-state quantum system we express this phase in terms of the geometry of the path, traversed by the slowly varying direction and amplitude of the fluctuations. We discuss the origin of this phase and possibilities to separate it from the known environment-induced modification of the Berry phase.