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arXiv:2001.10172 · Physical Review A

Magnetic forces in the absence of a classical magnetic field

Ismael L. Paiva, Yakir Aharonov, Jeff Tollaksen, Mordecai Waegell

Published Apr 14, 2020• 4 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

It is shown that, in some cases, the effect of discrete distributions of flux lines in quantum mechanics can be associated with the effect of continuous distributions of magnetic fields with special symmetries. In particular, flux lines with an arbitrary value of magnetic flux can be used to create energetic barriers, which can be used to confine quantum systems in specially designed configurations. This generalizes a previous work where such energy barriers arose from flux lines with half-integer fluxons. Furthermore, it is shown how the Landau levels can be obtained from a two-dimensional grid of flux lines. These results suggest that the classical magnetic force can be seen as emerging entirely from the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Finally, the basic elements of a semiclassical theory that models the emergence of classical magnetic forces from fields with special symmetries are introduced.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.101.042111

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It is shown that, in some cases, the effect of discrete distributions of flux lines in quantum mechanics can be associated with the effect of continuous distributions of magnetic fields with special symmetries. In particular, flux lines with an arbitrary value of magnetic flux can be used to create energetic barriers, which can be used to confine quantum systems in specially designed configurations. This generalizes a previous work where such energy barriers arose from flux lines with half-integer fluxons. Furthermore, it is shown how the Landau levels can be obtained from a two-dimensional grid of flux lines. These results suggest that the classical magnetic force can be seen as emerging entirely from the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Finally, the basic elements of a semiclassical theory that models the emergence of classical magnetic forces from fields with special symmetries are introduced.
This is a dissertation in two parts. In the first one, the Aharonov-Bohm effect is investigated. It is shown that solenoids (or flux lines) can be seen as barriers for quantum charges. In particular, a charge can be trapped in a sector of a long cavity by two flux lines. Also, grids of flux lines can approximate the force associated with continuous two-dimensional distributions of magnetic fields. More, if it is assumed that the lines can be as close to each other as desirable, it is explained how the classical magnetic force can emerge from the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Continuing, the quantization of the source of the magnetic field, and not just of the degrees of freedom of the particle interacting with it, is considered. Special attention is given to the cases where the source has a relatively small spreading and is post-selected. As it will be discussed, in those cases, the weak value plays a role in the determination of the effective vector potential "experienced" by the particle. In the second part of this work, notions from functional analysis are extended to Banach algebras and completions of Grassmann algebras. A notion of analyticity is given to the functions of a single Banach algebra variable. This notion allows the introduction of holomorphic polynomials, power series, and rational functions. With that, the analogous of Hilbert spaces of power series are also considered. Finally, closures of Grassmann algebras with respect to the 1 and the 2-norms are explored. The analogous of the complex analysis in the open disk or a half-plane (usually referred to as Schur analysis) is presented in the 1-norm closure. Also, a Wiener-like algebra, interpolation problems, and a process known as the Schur algorithm are studied in this setting. Now, an inner product between two elements can be introduced in the 2-norm closure, revealing similarities between this space and the non-commutative Fock-Bargamann-Segal space. It is, then, defined a class of stochastic processes. To conclude, the derivatives of these processes are analyzed in an analogous of the space of stochastic distributions.
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Using the periodic orbit theory,we computed the quantum level density of a particle in the two-dimensional harmonic oscillator potential with and without the magnetic flux line for different cases.Especially discuss the influence of the magnetic flux line on the quantum level density.The results show when the frequency ratio of the two-dimensional harmonic potential is a rational number,the quantum level density is discrete.Each peak in the level density corresponds to one energy.However,when the frequency ratio is an irrational number,the level density is oscillating,when the magnetic flux is added,the amplitude of the oscillation decreased.This can be considered as a consequence of Aharonov-Bohm effect.
Dynamics of a heavy electrically neutral fluxon moving in the presence of a light charged quantum particle is studied. The adiabatic potentials are derived and the gauge invariance of the system is delineated. The charged particle confined by a harmonic potential and the neutral particle with half a flux unit (semifluxon) is analyzed. It is shown for this setup that the Aharonov-Casher modification of the fluxon's kinematical momentum leads to a magnetic adiabatic force that breaks time-reversal symmetry. It follows that a conventional adiabatic approach, including the adiabatic reaction forces, is generally inconsistent with time-reversal symmetry.
The Aharonov-Bohm effect is a physical phenomenon in which the quantum state of a charged particle acquires a phase shift that is directly proportional to the magnetic flux, ΦΦΦ, due to a (classical) magnetic field, B{\mathbf B}B, which is confined in a spatial region from which the magnetic field cannot escape. Even though the charged particle is not allowed to interact with the magnetic field, it accumulates a phase shift that affects the interference pattern produced. Not surprisingly, this apparent nonlocality is puzzling and counter intuitive. In this work, we provide an explanation that explains the physics underlying this apparent nonlocality. We find that the role of the confined magnetic field is to impart a puncture in the configuration space, R2\mathbb{R}^2R2, of the charge. Therefore, the quantum state corresponding to the charged quantum particle acquires the phase shift due to its response to the modified topology of the configuration space, R2−{0}\mathbb{R}^2-\{0\}R2−{0}, corresponding to the charge.