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arXiv:2601.16304

Axial Anomaly, entanglement and polarization

O. V. Teryaev

hep-phnucl-thquant-phSubmitted Jan 22, 2026• Announced Jan 26, 2026
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The (pion) decays controlled by axial anomaly imply the specific entanglement between photons having also the counterparts for classical electromagnetic waves. This is also a specific case of Eisnstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Bohm-Aharonov effect. The absence of causality and non-locality in (angular) momentum conservation is manifested, being especially clear for the generalization to the case of time rather than space separation corresponds to the polarization of dileptons described by time-like pion transition formfactors which may be studied experimentally. The similar decays in external magnetic field manifest the interplay with vacuum conductivity in external magnetic field and longitudinal polarization of vector mesons observed in heavy-ion collisions.

Journal reference
Published in: PoS QCDEX2025 (2026) 028
DOI
10.22323/1.508.0028
Comments
10 pages, no figures

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The (pion) decays controlled by axial anomaly imply the specific entanglement between photons having also the counterparts for classical electromagnetic waves. This is also a specific case of Eisnstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Bohm-Aharonov effect. The absence of causality and non-locality in (angular) momentum conservation is manifested, being especially clear for the generalization to the case of time rather than space separation corresponds to the polarization of dileptons described by time-like pion transition formfactors which may be studied experimentally. The similar decays in external magnetic field manifest the interplay with vacuum conductivity in external magnetic field and longitudinal polarization of vector mesons observed in heavy-ion collisions.
Ultra-peripheral collisions (UPCs) involving relativistic heavy ions are a unique laboratory to study quantum correlations. The intense electromagnetic fields generate high rates of photonuclear interactions, including events involving multiple photon exchange. Multiple photon exchange can result in the production of multiple vector mesons and/or nuclear excitations. These interactions share a common impact parameter, so the photons have the same linear polarization. The shared polarization entangles the particles, leading to unique quantum correlations. The decays of these vector excitations are sensitive to this polarization, allowing for the study of these correlations. This letter will compare classical and quantum calculations of the correlations between these azimuthal directions. The two approaches predict vert different angular correlations. The differences are akin to those seen with polarized photons in tests of Bells inequality. Uniquely, UPC photoproduction can produce final states containing three or more particles, all entangled with the same polarization. These more complex states exhibit additional unique phenomenology, allowing new tests of multi-particle entanglement.
We reconsider some well-known tunneling processes from the point of view of Aharonov-Bohm electrodynamics, a unique extension of Maxwell’s theory which admits charge-current sources that are not locally conserved. In particular we are interested into tunneling phenomena having relatively long range (otherwise the non-Maxwellian effects become irrelevant, especially at high frequency) and involving macroscopic wavefunctions and coherent matter, for which it makes sense to evaluate the classical e.m. field generated by the tunneling particles. For some condensed-matter systems, admitting discontinuities in the probability current is a possible way of formulating phenomenological models. In such cases, the Aharonov-Bohm theory offers a logically consistent approach and allows to derive observable consequences. Typical e.m. signatures of the failure of local conservation are at high frequency the generation of a longitudinal electric radiation field, and at low frequency a small effect of “missing” magnetic field. Possible causes of this failure are instant tunneling and phase slips in superconductors. For macroscopic quantum systems in which the phase-number uncertainty relation ΔNΔφ∼1 applies, the expectation value of the anomalous source I=∂tρ+∇·j has quantum fluctuations, thus becoming a random source of weak non-Maxwellian fields.
In the context of the Aharonov-Bohm effect, it is well-known that the local action of the vector potential or the non-local action of the magnetic field are properties attributable to quantum physics, which can explain the observed Aharonov-Bohm phase. Here we point out that, surprisingly, these properties are also attributable to classical physics and that this result follows from examining the electromagnetic angular momentum of a static electric charge outside an infinitely-long solenoid of finite radius carrying a uniform magnetic flux. This angular momentum may be expressed in three equivalent forms. The first form shows that there is an electromagnetic angular momentum even in regions for which the magnetic field vanishes but the potential does not, which stresses the physical nature of the vector potential in classical physics. The second form shows that there is an electromagnetic angular momentum produced by the non-local action of the magnetic field. The third form shows that the Aharonov-Bohm phase is proportional to the magnitude of the electromagnetic angular momentum, which sheds light on the physical meaning of this phase.
The electric Aharonov-Bohm effect is usually explained by means of the scalar potential, which is present in a multiply connected region of space time where no electric field acts on the charged particle. An alternative interpretation is given in terms of the particle's polarization field penetrating the region occupied by the electric field but inaccessible to the particle itself. Similarly, the magnetic Aharonov-Bohm effect is usually explained by means of the vector potential, which is present in a multiply connected region of space where no magnetic-induction field acts on the charged particle. An alternative interpretation of this effect is given in terms of the particle's magnetization field penetrating the region occupied by the magnetic-induction field but inaccessible to the particle itself. Our interpretations of the electric and magnetic Aharonov-Bohm effects are both developed by using the multipolar form of the Lagrangian instead of the minimal-coupling form in the Feynman path integral.
Recent experiments on the classic Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) setting claim to test the compatibility between nonlocal quantum entanglement and the (special) theory of relativity. Confirmation of quantum theory has led to the interpretation that Einstein's image of physical reality for each photon in the EPR pair cannot be maintained. A detailed critique on two representative experiments is presented following the original EPR notion of local realism. It is argued that relativity does not enter into the picture, however for the Bell-Bohm version of local realism in terms of hidden variables such experiments are significant. Of the two alternatives, namely incompleteness of quantum theory for describing an individual quantum system, and the ensemble view, it is only the former that has been ruled out by the experiments. An alternative approach gives a statistical ensemble interpretation of the observed data, and the significant conclusion that these experiments do not deny physical reality of the photon is obtained. After discussing the need for a photon model, a vortex structure is proposed based on the space-time invariant property-spin, and pure gauge fields. To test the prime role of spin for photons and the angular-momentum interpretation of electromagnetic fields, experimental schemes feasible in modern laboratories are suggested.
The Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect is considered in the context of Generalized Electrodynamics (GE) by Podolsky and Bopp. GE is the only extension to Maxwell electrodynamics that is locally U(1)-gauge invariant, admits linear field equations and contains higher-order derivatives of the vector potential. GE admits both massless and massive modes for the photon. We recover the ordinary quantum phase shift of the AB effect, derived in the context of Maxwell electrodynamics, for the massless mode of the photon in GE. The massive mode induces a correction factor to the AB phase shift depending on the photon mass. We study both the magnetic AB effect and its electric counterpart. In principle, accurate experimental observations of AB the phase shift could be used to constrain GE photon mass.