We use a covariant formalism that is capable of describing the electric and magnetic versions of the Aharonov-Bohm effect, as well as the Aharonov-Casher effect, through local interactions of charges and currents with the quantum electromagnetic field. By considering that only local interactions of a quantum particle with the quantum field can affect its behavior, we show that the magnetic Aharonov-Bohm effect must be present even if the solenoid generating the magnetic field is shielded by a perfect conductor, as experimentally demonstrated.
We address the question of locality versus nonlocality in the Aharonov-Bohm and the Aharonov-Casher effects. For this purpose, we investigate all possible configurations of ideal shielding of the overlap between the electromagnetic fields generated by a charge and by a magnetic flux and analyze their consequences on the Aharonov-Bohm-Casher interference. In a classical treatment of shielding, the Aharonov-Bohm-Casher effect vanishes regardless of the geometry of shielding when the local overlap of electromagnetic fields is completely eliminated. On the other hand, the result depends on the configuration of shielding if the charge quantization in the superconducting shield is taken into account. It is shown that our results are fully understood in terms of the fluctuating local-field interaction. Our analysis strongly supports the alternative view on the Aharonov-Bohm-Casher interference that the effects originate from the local action of electromagnetic fields.
The Aharonov-Bohm effect is traditionally attributed to the effect of the electromagnetic 4-potential
A, even in regions where both the electric field
E and the magnetic field
B are zero. The AB effect reveals that multiple-valued functions play a crucial role in the description of an electromagnetic field. We argue that the quantity measured by AB experiments is a difference in values of a multiple-valued complex function, which we call a complex potential or {pre-potential. We show that any electromagnetic field can be described by this pre-potential, and give an explicit expression for the electromagnetic field tensor through this potential. The pre-potential is a modification of the two scalar potential functions.