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.

From Scientific American

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.

From Scientific American

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.

From Scientific American

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

From Scientific American

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

From Nature