Phase-Space Quantum Geometry Beyond Adiabatic Electron Dynamics

Abstract

The geometry of electronic quantum states plays an important role in the equilibrium and transport properties of solids. While the Berry curvature is known to influence electron motion, recent work has shown that the quantum metric also affects the motion of electron wave packets beyond the adiabatic approximation. To connect this nonadiabatic dynamics to many-electron observables, we derive an equivalent semiclassical formulation, valid up to second order in $\hbar$. The resulting phase-space measure and kinetic equation incorporate the quantum metric over the full phase space, including its mixed real-momentum components. We show that, in spatially inhomogeneous systems, the full phase-space quantum metric contributes to electric polarization in insulators and generates an intrinsic linear Hall response in metals. As a concrete example, we study Dirac electrons subject to a magnetic texture and a background potential that vary periodically in space. In this model, the mixed components of the phase-space metric produce a Hall contribution controlled by the relative phase between the two modulations. This phase-sensitive response can remain finite even when the conventional anomalous Hall conductivity vanishes. More broadly, our formulation enables the systematic study of equilibrium and transport responses in systems whose quantum geometry involves both position and momentum.