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arXiv:2403.10580 · Journal of Physics Communications

Simple circuit and experimental proposal for the detection of gauge-waves

Fernando O. Minotti, Giovanni Modanese

Published May 1, 2024• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract Aharonov-Bohm electrodynamics predicts the existence of traveling waves of pure potentials, with zero electromagnetic fields, denoted as gauge waves, or g-waves for short. In general, these waves cannot be shielded by matter since their lack of electromagnetic fields prevents the material from reacting to them. However, a not-locally-conserved electric current present in the material does interact with the potentials in the wave, giving the possibility of its detection. In [1] the basic theoretical description of a detecting circuit was presented, based on a phenomenological theory of materials that can sustain not-locally-conserved electric currents. In the present work we discuss how that circuit can be built in practice, and used for the effective detection of g-waves.

DOI
10.1088/2399-6528/ad4e98

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Abstract Aharonov-Bohm electrodynamics predicts the existence of traveling waves of pure potentials, with zero electromagnetic fields, denoted as gauge waves, or g-waves for short. In general, these waves cannot be shielded by matter since their lack of electromagnetic fields prevents the material from reacting to them. However, a not-locally-conserved electric current present in the material does interact with the potentials in the wave, giving the possibility of its detection. In [1] the basic theoretical description of a detecting circuit was presented, based on a phenomenological theory of materials that can sustain not-locally-conserved electric currents. In the present work we discuss how that circuit can be built in practice, and used for the effective detection of g-waves.
Abstract The extended Aharonov–Bohm electrodynamics has a simple formal structure and allows to couple the e.m. field also to currents which are not locally conserved, like those resulting from certain non-local effective quantum models of condensed matter. As it often happens in physics and mathematics when one tries to extend the validity of some equations or operations, new perspectives emerge in comparison to Maxwell theory, and some “exotic” phenomena are predicted. For the Aharonov–Bohm theory the main new feature is that the potentials AμA^\mu Aμ A μ become univocally defined and can be measured with probes in which the “extra-current” I=∂μjμI=\partial _\mu j^\mu I=∂μ​jμ I = ∂ μ j μ is not zero at some points. As a consequence, it is possible in principle to detect pure gauge-waves with E=B=0{\textbf{E}}={\textbf{B}}=0E=B=0 E = B = 0 , which would be regarded as non-physical in the Maxwell gauge-invariant theory with local current conservation. We discuss in detail the theoretical aspects of this phenomenon and propose an experimental realization of the detectors. A full treatment of wave propagation in anomalous media with extra-currents and of energy–momentum balance issues is also given.
The extended Aharonov-Bohm electrodynamics has a simple formal structure and allows to couple the e.m. field also to currents which are not locally conserved, like those resulting from certain non-local effective quantum models of condensed matter. As it often happens in physics and mathematics when one tries to extend the validity of some equations or operations, new perspectives emerge in comparison to Maxwell theory, and some ''exotic'' phenomena are predicted. For the Aharonov-Bohm theory the main new feature is that the potentials AμA^μAμ become univocally defined and can be measured with probes in which the ''extra-current'' I=∂μjμI=\partial_μj^μI=∂μ​jμ is not zero at some points. As a consequence, it is possible in principle to detect pure gauge-waves with E=B=0\mathbf{E}=\mathbf{B}=0E=B=0, which would be regarded as non-physical in the Maxwell gauge-invariant theory with local current conservation. We discuss in detail the theoretical aspects of this phenomenon and propose an experimental realization of the detectors. A full treatment of wave propagation in anomalous media with extra-currents and of energy-momentum balance issues is also given.
The phase of the wave function of charged matter is sensitive to the value of the electric potential, even when the matter never enters any region with nonvanishing electromagnetic fields. Despite its fundamental character, this archetypal electric Aharonov-Bohm effect has evidently never been observed. We propose an experiment to detect the electric potential through its coupling to the superconducting order parameter. A potential difference between two superconductors will induce a relative phase shift that is observable via the DC Josephson effect even when no electromagnetic fields ever act on the superconductors, and even if the potential difference is later reduced to zero. This is a type of electromagnetic memory effect, and would directly demonstrate the physical significance of the electric potential.
This article describes the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect of electron waves travelling in free space and its application to the observation of gauge fields (vector potentials). The AB effect is inconceivable in classical physics since an observable effect is produced on electrons passing through field-free spaces. Electrons can be affected only by Lorentz forces due to electromagnetic fields. The situation is different in quantum mechanics, where electrons show wave properties: the concept of force is no longer relevant, so electric field E and magnetic field B, defined as forces acting on a unit charge, take on secondary meanings. “Phase shifts” come into play, and the primary physical entities become neither E nor B but electrostatic potential V and vector potential A. These potentials interact with electron waves and shift their phases.
In classical electrodynamics the vacuum is defined as a region where there are no electric or magnetic fields. In such a region, a charged particle (such as an electron) will feel no effect — the Lorentz force is zero. The space ex-ternal to a perfect (i.e., infinite) solenoid can be considered an electromagnetic vacuum, since ~E and ~B vanish there. While a non-zero vector potential ~A does exist outside the solenoid, it can exert no influence on the particle, and as such cannot be directly detected or quantified classically. However, in 1959 Aharonov and Bohm predicted that a vector field would exert a purely quantum-mechanical effect on the phase of the particle’s wave function, which in principle should be detectable. The predicted phase shift was not observed experimentally until 1986, when Tonomura brilliantly verified the effect using a microscopic solenoid. This paper provides a simplified explanation of the Aharonov-Bohm prediction using a path-integral approach that is suitable for the advanced undergraduate. 1.
We study a generalization of Aharonov-Bohm effect, the potential effect. The discussion is focused on field-free effects in simply connected region, which obviously can not have any local field-flux. Among the published discussions about this kind of effects, it is generally agreed that this kind of effects does not exist due to gauge invariance. However, there are also opinions that this effect is a trivial variation of Aharonov-Bohm effect and therefore there is no need to check its existence. To my knowledge, it has never been tested. My first goal here is to supply enough theoretical reason to motivate the experimental test of this effect. I start with an intuitive derivation, then I introduce a wave-front theory as a theoretical consideration. Logically, the existence of potential effect implies the existence of the AB effect, but not vice versa. The purpose of this paper is to provide a physical connection in the opposite direction.