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Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General

The scattering of charged particles on the toroidal solenoid

G N Afanasiev

Published May 7, 1988• 12 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The charged particle scattering amplitude on the magnetic field of a toroidal solenoid is obtained in the first Born and high-energy approximations. It is shown that multiconnectedness of the accessible space, non-triviality vector potentials in it and the single-valuedness of the wavefunctions used are not enough for the existence of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Criteria are given for this. Surrounding the toroidal solenoid with barriers of different geometrical forms, the author observes that the magnetic field contribution to the scattering amplitude depends crucially both on the barrier height and its form. The latter could hardly be explained by particle penetration into the H not=0 region. The author proposes an addendum to Tonomura's experiments which probably could clear up any doubts about the existence of the AB effect. The gedanken experiment is discussed which shows that the effect of inaccessible fields could be observed even in a simply connected space.

DOI
10.1088/0305-4470/21/9/023

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The charged particle scattering amplitude on the magnetic field of a toroidal solenoid is obtained in the first Born and high-energy approximations. It is shown that multiconnectedness of the accessible space, non-triviality vector potentials in it and the single-valuedness of the wavefunctions used are not enough for the existence of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Criteria are given for this. Surrounding the toroidal solenoid with barriers of different geometrical forms, the author observes that the magnetic field contribution to the scattering amplitude depends crucially both on the barrier height and its form. The latter could hardly be explained by particle penetration into the H not=0 region. The author proposes an addendum to Tonomura's experiments which probably could clear up any doubts about the existence of the AB effect. The gedanken experiment is discussed which shows that the effect of inaccessible fields could be observed even in a simply connected space.
The quantum-mechanical Aharonov-Bohm effect in the diffraction of charged particles by a toroidal solenoid containing a magnetic field is investigated. The total and differential elastic scattering cross sections depend on the magnetic flux inside the solenoid, even in the presence of a “black” ring-shaped screen which prevents charged particles from entering the region where the magnetic field is localized. Relations describing the momentum-transfer cross section for the elastic scattering of charged particles by a toroidal solenoid are obtained in the eikonal approximation and in a unitary model of scattering with a sharp jump in the partial amplitudes. The momentum-transfer scattering cross section is proportional to the average transfer of the longitudinal momentum of the scattered particle and can be expressed in terms of a force operator. It is shown that in the absence of a screen the momentum-transfer scattering cross section of toroidal solenoid is indeed determined only by the part of the incident beam that intersects the inner region of the toroidal solenoid, where the magnetic field intensity and, therefore, the Lorentz force are nonzero. At the same time, the momentum-transfer cross section for the scattering of charged particles by a toroidal solenoid covered by a “black” ring-shaped screen does not depend on the magnetic flux inside the solenoid and is identical to the momentum-transfer cross section for diffraction by the same screen. The contribution from scattering by an opening in the screen, which depends on the magnetic flux, is completely compensated by the contribution of the interference of the scattering amplitudes of the opening and the “black” screen.
The Aharonov-Bohm effect is reconsidered as a scattering event of an electron by a magnetic field confined in an infinite solenoid of finite radius both in the situation where the solenoid is penetrable as well as impenetrable. We next discuss the validity of the Born approximation for the partial-wave scattering amplitudes and explain why for the cylindrically symmetric (m=0)(m=0)(m=0) partial wave the first Born approximation fails in the long-wavelength limit or as the radius of the solenoid shrinks to zero.
The authors have found the scattering cross sections on two solenoids with opposite magnetic fluxes and on the toroidal solenoid in the presence or absence of a magnetic field. From this they extract the diffraction pattern shift which is due to the presence of the magnetic flux inside the solenoids. Practical recommendations for the performance of the experiments are given. It is proved that the crucial experiment on the existence of the AB effect suggested earlier could indeed be realised in practice.
The scattering amplitude of a charged particle from a long hard cylinderical solenoid is derived by solving the time independent Schrödinger equation on a double connected plane. It is a summation over the angular momentum quantum number (partial wave summation). It is shown that only negative mechanical angular momenta contribute to the amplitude when the radius of the solenoid goes to zero limit without varying the magnetic induction flux (Flux line). Original Aharonov-Bohm result is obtained with this limit.
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.
The Aharonov-Bohm (AB) scattering of charged particles by the magnetic field of an infinitely long and infinitely thin solenoid (magnetic string) in an absorbing medium is studied. We discuss the partial-wave approach to this problem and show that the standard partial-wave method can be adjusted to this case. The effect of absorption leads to oscillations of the AB cross section. Based on this we investigate the scattering of neutral atoms with induced electric dipole moments by a charge wire of finite radius, which is placed in a uniform magnetic field. The physical realistic and practically important case that all atoms that collide with the wire are totally absorbed at its surface is studied in detail. The dominating terms of the scattering amplitude are evaluated analytically for different physical constellations. The remaining terms are written in a form suitable for a numerical computation. We show that if the magnetic field is absent, the absorbing charged wire causes oscillations of the cross section. In the presence of the magnetic field the cross section increases and the dominating Aharonov-Bohm peak appears in the forward direction, suppressing the oscillations.