Geometric phase and its applications to fundamental physics

Abstract

We report on recent results showing that the geometric phase can be used as a tool in the analysis of many different physical systems, as mixed boson systems, CPT and CP violations, Unruh effects and thermal states. We show that the geometric phases appearing in the time evolution of mixed meson systems like $B_{s}^{0}-\bar{B}_{s}^{0}$ and the $K^{0}-\bar{K}^{0}$ are linked to the parameter $z$ describing the $CPT$ violation. A non zero phase difference between particle and antiparticle arises only in the presence of $CPT$ symmetry breaking. Then the geometric phase can represent a completely new test for the $CPT$ invariance. Moreover, we study the geometric phase of systems represented by mixed state and undergoing a nonunitary evolution and propose the realization of interferometers which can prove the existence of the Unruh effect and can allow very precise measurements of temperature. We are glad to dedicate this paper to Professor Gaetano Vilasi in the occasion of his 70th birthday.