Thomas Precession for Dressed Particles

TL;DR

This paper explores how boundary gravitons in 3D Minkowski space induce a Berry phase in a dressed particle's wavefunction, generalizing Thomas precession through BMS superrotations, revealing potential observable effects of asymptotic symmetries.

Contribution

It introduces a gravitational analog of Thomas precession caused by BMS superrotations, linking asymptotic symmetries to observable quantum phases.

Findings

Berry phase arises from boundary gravitons and BMS transformations

BMS superrotations lead to a gravitational Thomas precession

Potential observability of asymptotic symmetry effects in quantum phases

Abstract

We consider a particle dressed with boundary gravitons in three-dimensional Minkowski space. The existence of BMS transformations implies that the particle's wavefunction picks up a Berry phase when subjected to changes of reference frames that trace a closed path in the asymptotic symmetry group. We evaluate this phase and show that, for BMS superrotations, it provides a gravitational generalization of Thomas precession. In principle, such phases are observable signatures of asymptotic symmetries.