  The geometric phase can be used as a fruitful venue of investigation to infer
features of the quantum systems. Its application can reach new theoretical
frontiers and imply innovative and challenging experimental proposals. Herein,
we take advantage of the geometric phase to sense the corrections induced while
a neutral particle travels at constant velocity in front of an imperfect sheet
in quantum vacuum. As it is already known, two bodies in relative motion at
constant velocity experience a quantum contactless dissipative force, known as
quantum friction. This force has eluded experimental detection so far due to
its small magnitude and short range. However, we give details of an innovative
experiment designed to track traces of the quantum friction by measuring the
velocity dependence of corrections to the geometric phase. We notice that the
environmentally induced corrections can be decomposed in different
contributions: corrections induced by the presence of the dielectric sheet and
the motion of the particle in quantum vacuum. As the geometric phase
accumulates over time, its correction becomes relevant at a relative short
timescale, while the system still preserves purity. The experimentally viable
scheme presented would be the first one in tracking traces of quantum friction
through the study of decoherence effects on a NV center in diamond.
