It is shown that the phase of the hidden momentum in Aharonov-Bohm (AB) solenoid effect is equal in magnitude to the phase of the electron but with opposite sign. The phase of the hidden momentum is equal to that obtained by the energy of interference calculated in our previous paper (J.Opt.Soc.Am. B 17, 2052 2000).
The Aharonov–Bohm solenoid effect is related to the inequality of the forces of action and reaction of two subsystems in a three-system configuration. During the motion of the electron around the solenoid there are momentum exchanges between the solenoid and the electromagnetic field that are produced by the electron and the solenoid. The integral of the momentum of interference over the trajectory of the electron, which is equal to the integral of the energy of interference over the corresponding time, gives the Aharonov–Bohm phase shift.
In the present Note it is suggested that there should be a certain complementarity of phases between Aharonov-Bohm (AB) solenoid phase calculation on one part of the system and a phase calculation about another part of the physical system. Assuming a unique value for the function of the total system, after a complete circulation of the electron around the solenoid, the sum of these two phase changes should vanish. Such assumption leads to a compatibility relation between our previous calculations for the AB solenoid phase effect and that of the original calculation by AB.
Although there is no force on the electron in Aharonov-Bohm solenoid effect, the electron exerts a force on the solenoid related to the inequality of action and reaction forces of two subsystems in three-system configuration. The AB phase which is related to the force exerted by the electron on the solenoid . The momentum changes of the mechanical oscillator are equal in magnitude and opposite in sign to the changes in the momentum of the em fields. It is proposed to investigate momentum changes of "micro" bodies producing magnetic fields in AB systems which will clarify the nature of these effects. The problem of magnetic fields shielded from the electron wave packet is also discussed.
In the Aharonov-Bohm setup, a double-slit experiment, coherent beams of electrons passing through two slits form an interference pattern on the observing screen. However, when a long but thin solenoid of current is introduced behind the slits between the two electron beams, an extra phase difference between them appears, as shown by a shift in the interference pattern. This happens even though there is no magnetic field outside the solenoid, at the location of the beams. This is known as Aharonov-Bohm effect, though the idea was mooted apparently a decade earlier, and the effect sometimes is called Ehrenberg-Siday-Aharonov-Bohm effect. This mysterious effect, purportedly arises owing to an electromagnetic momentum, attributed to the presence at the location of either beam, a vector potential due to the solenoid of current even when there exists no magnetic field outside the solenoid. The first experimental confirmation came soon and It has since been amply verified using clever experimental setups, leaving hardly any doubts that the observed effect is real. However, on the theoretical side the picture is not so clear and a satisfactory physical explanation of the existence of momentum, at least under the aegis of classical electromagnetism, is still missing since inception of the idea more than half a century back. It has remained a puzzle, how just potential, thought to be a mere mathematical tools for calculating electromagnetic field, can give rise to an electromagnetic momentum in a system, in lieu of field itself. We here show that a subtle momentum can be seen to lie in the product of the drift velocities of the current carrying charges and the mass equivalent of their non-localized potential energies in the electric field of the interfering electrons, which manifests, from a classical point of view, a linear momentum in the system. It is this hard-to-pinpoint, additional momentum, reflected through an extra phase difference between the interfering beams of electrons, which exhibits from a classical physics perspective, the presence of an elusive, long sought-after electromagnetic momentum in the system.
It is pointed out that accounts in the literature sometimes misinterpret the Aharonov-Bohm effect, involving the shift in interference pattern for electrons passing a long solenoid. The quantum description and experimental verification of the effect are reviewed, and it is emphasized that both theory and experiment indicate that there is no deflection of the average momentum of the electrons passing the solenoid. There is no average force on the electrons due to the solenoid. It is remarked that the Aharonov-Bohm effect involves the shift of double-slit interference fringes which is independent of the quantum unit of action ħ and yet allows a natural classical limit.
In the Aharonov–Bohm setup, a double-slit experiment, when a long but thin solenoid of current is introduced between the two coherent beams of electrons behind the slits, an extra phase difference between the interfering beams appears, as shown by a shift in the interference pattern. This mysterious effect purportedly arises owing to an electromagnetic momentum, attributed to the presence of a vector potential at the location of either beam, due to the solenoid of current even when the magnetic field is zero outside the solenoid. It has remained a puzzle, how mere potential, thought to be just a mathematical tool for calculating electromagnetic field, can give rise to electromagnetic momentum in a system. Experimentally, the effect has been amply verified, with hardly any doubts that the observed effect is real. A satisfactory physical explanation of the existence of momentum, at least under the aegis of classical electromagnetism, is still missing since inception of the idea more than half a century back. We show here the presence of electromagnetic momentum in the product of the drift velocities of the current-carrying charges within the solenoid and the mass equivalent of their potential energies in the electric field of the external charges.