  An electron spin moving adiabatically in a strong, spatially non-uniform
magnetic field accumulates a geometric phase or Berry phase, which might be
observable as a conductance oscillation in a mesoscopic ring. Two contradicting
theories exist for how strong the magnetic field should be to ensure
adiabaticity if the motion is diffusive. To resolve this controversy, we study
the effect of a non-uniform magnetic field on the spin polarization and on the
weak-localization effect. The diffusion equation for the Cooperon is solved
exactly. Adiabaticity requires that the spin-precession time is short compared
to the elastic scattering time - it is not sufficient that it is short compared
to the diffusion time around the ring. This strong condition severely
complicates the experimental observation.
