The stochastic pump effect and geometric phases in dissipative and stochastic systems

The success of Berry phases in quantum mechanics stimulated the study of similar phenomena in other areas of physics, including the theory of living cell locomotion and motion of patterns in nonlinear media. More recently, geometric phases have been applied to systems operating in a strongly stochastic environment, such as molecular motors. We discuss such geometric effects in purely classical dissipative stochastic systems and their role in the theory of the stochastic pump effect (SPE).