Geometry of an adiabatic passage at a level crossing

Abstract

We discuss adiabatic quantum phenomena at a level crossing. Given a path in the parameter space which passes through a degeneracy point, we find a criterion which determines whether the adiabaticity condition can be satisfied. For paths that can be traversed adiabatically we also derive a differential equation which specifies the time dependence of the system parameters, for which transitions between distinct energy levels can be neglected. We also generalize the well-known geometric connections to the case of adiabatic paths containing arbitrarily many level-crossing points and degenerate levels.

7 pages, 6 figures, RevTeX4, changes requested by Phys. Rev. A