winding number

noun

Mathematics.

1. the number of times a closed curve winds around a point not on the curve.

Example Sentences

So the strip’s winding number, 1, is a topologically protected feature.

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In other words, the winding number tells us that after a BEC's momentum makes a full circle, it comes back to the state it started in.

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This wrapping, independent of a particular path or the speed the path is traveled, is a topological property associated with a Dirac point and shows us directly that this point is a singularity with a so-called topological winding number of 1.

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This winding number also reveals that every time it goes around the Dirac point, its geometric phase increases by π.

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“I knew it would make a splash,” says Simon of his description of this topological effect, called a ‘winding number’.

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