Berry's phase and quantum mechanical formulation of anomalous Hall effect

TL;DR

This paper explores the quantum mechanical formulation of the anomalous Hall effect via Berry's phase, addressing issues with canonical commutation relations and proposing alternative approaches without electromagnetic potentials.

Contribution

It provides a new perspective on formulating the anomalous Hall effect in quantum mechanics, avoiding electromagnetic potentials while discussing Berry's curvature and phase space modifications.

Findings

Canonical commutation relations are not maintained with Berry's phase in electromagnetic fields.

An alternative formulation without electromagnetic vector potential is proposed.

Comments on the Born-Oppenheimer approximation and Bjorken-Johnson-Low prescription are included.

Abstract

The canonical commutation relations in quantum mechanics are not maintained in the anomalous Hall effect described by Berry's phase in the presence of the electromagnetic vector potential. To define quantum mechanical formulation, one may avoid the electromagnetic vector potential but then the anomalous Nernst effect induced by Berry's curvature is not described using a modified phase space volume, although the anomalous Nernst effect by itself may be generated by the adiabatic Berry's curvature. We also comment on the Born-Oppenheimer approximation if it describes the anomalous Hall effect in the absence of the electromagnetic vector potential in quantum mechanics. An alternative view of the Bjorken-Johnson-Low prescription which is consistent with the principle of quantum mechanics and the existing Berry's phase theory of the anomalous Hall effect is also mentioned.