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Journal of Physics A Mathematical and Theoretical

Nonlocal quantum dynamics of the Aharonov–Bohm effect

T. Kaufherr, Yakir Aharonov

Published Aug 12, 2010• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The answer to the question ‘when does the AB effect occur?’ is elusive, for in every gauge the relative phase between the two wave packets evolves differently. Considering gauge-invariant modulo momentum, i.e., the displacement operator or its Hermitian counterpart , it is found that when the external particle's two wave packets become co-linear with the solenoid, an abrupt nonlocal exchange of the conserved quantity occurs. Using the Heisenberg picture, we show that this exchange is responsible for the shift of the interference pattern of the AB effect. We also describe a gedanken experiment that shows that our prediction can, in principle, be tested experimentally. Finally, this exchange gives new insight into the famous two-slit quantum interference experiment.

DOI
10.1088/1751-8113/43/35/354012

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The answer to the question ‘when does the AB effect occur?’ is elusive, for in every gauge the relative phase between the two wave packets evolves differently. Considering gauge-invariant modulo momentum, i.e., the displacement operator or its Hermitian counterpart , it is found that when the external particle's two wave packets become co-linear with the solenoid, an abrupt nonlocal exchange of the conserved quantity occurs. Using the Heisenberg picture, we show that this exchange is responsible for the shift of the interference pattern of the AB effect. We also describe a gedanken experiment that shows that our prediction can, in principle, be tested experimentally. Finally, this exchange gives new insight into the famous two-slit quantum interference experiment.
The Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect demonstrates that electromagnetic potentials can influence quantum systems in field-free regions, challenging classical intuitions. In 2004, Aharonov and Kaufherr proposed that the AB phase shift arises from a nonlocal exchange of modular momentum, a gauge-invariant quantity, occurring at a definite time before wave packet interference. This framework, however, introduces a paradox: the expectation value of the modular momentum operator, ⟨M^y⟩\langle \hat{M}_y \rangle⟨M^y​⟩, changes abruptly when the electron’s wave packets cross the solenoid, yet local, gauge-invariant properties of the electron, such as its velocity distribution, remain continuous. We resolve this paradox by showing that M^y=exp⁡(imvyLℏ)\hat{M}_y=\exp(i \frac{m v_y L}{\hbar})M^y​=exp(iℏmvy​L​) and the velocity operator v^y\hat{v}_yv^y​ have distinct spectral measures, and the abrupt change in ⟨M^y⟩\langle \hat{M}_y \rangle⟨M^y​⟩ reflects a global topological change in the electromagnetic environment, not a dynamical alteration in the electron’s state. Through a corrected, gauge-invariant formulation, we demonstrate that ⟨M^y⟩\langle \hat{M}_y \rangle⟨M^y​⟩ encodes the AB phase but does not explain the AB effect’s mechanism. This resolution reaffirms the conventional explanation of the AB effect while clarifying the nonlocal nature and experimental limitations of modular momentum.
We propose a quantitative test of the quantum nonlocality in the electromagnetic interaction that generates the Aharonov-Bohm effect. For this purpose, we derive an interaction Lagrangian based on the action of gauge-invariant quantities only, and compare it with the standard potential-based (nonlocal) Lagrangian. It is shown that the two models provide identical results for any phenomena involving classical equations of motion or topological quantum phases. Interestingly, we find an example violating this equivalence, that is, the interference of single charges coproduced from two independent sources. Whereas a well-defined phase shift of the interference is predicted in the local model, the standard nonlocal Lagrangian does not provide a gauge-invariant phase shift. This implies that an observation of the interference in the proposed setup can rule out the gauge-dependent potential-based model. This result has profound implications as it can settle the issue of dynamical nonlocality in the quantum electromagnetic interaction.
Classical electromagnetic lag effects can give rise to quantum interference pattern shifts such as that observed experimentally in the Aharonov-Bohm effect involving electrons passing a solenoid. This paper presents an extensive comparison between interference pattern shifts based upon classical electromagnetic fields, and based upon classical electromagnetic potentials as suggested by Aharonov and Bohm. Stress is placed upon the difference between two types of interference pattern shifts: those involving deflection of the entire interference pattern and those involving a deflection of only the double-slit pattern while leaving the single-slit envelope undisplaced. The first type of shift is produced by a classical deflecting force. The second type of shift can be produced by classical electromagnetic lag effects, and is also the type of shift associated with the Aharonov-Bohm effect. The two types are confused in the literature. A new experiment is proposed which shows the relationship between a classical lag effect, due to electrostatic fields on electrons passing along different paths, and the associated quantum interference pattern shifts. The experiment is analyzed in detail using the WKB approximation in the Schr\"odinger equation and also semiclassical ideas. The classical limit for the situation illustrates the Bohr correspondence principle, showing the relative lag between the electron wave packets becoming a measurable classical lag with a disappearance of the interference pattern as the lag becomes large compared to the wave-packet dimensions. For small shifts, the phase change predicted for the new experiment is identical with the scalar potential effect proposed by Aharonov and Bohm for a slightly different, time-varying experimental arrangement. The theoretical and experimental differences for large phase shifts are noted. The possibility is raised that a new classical electromagnetic lag effect may occur for electrons passing a small solenoid. Using a particular model for energy conservation, the predicted lag effect can be calculated and is associated with a quantum interference pattern shift of the same magnitude as predicted by Aharonov and Bohm based upon the electromagnetic vector potential. Thus the possibility exists that the experiments of Chambers and of M\"ollenstedt and Bayh may not confirm the ideas of Aharonov and Bohm on the vector potential in quantum theory. Several experiments are suggested which allow confirmation that the Aharonov-Bohm effect indeed involves local effects of the classical electromagnetic potential, rather than local electromagnetic fields leading to a new classical lag effect and hence to the observed quantum interference pattern shift.
Recently the physical mechanism for geometric phase in optics has been elucidated in terms of the angular momentum holonomy proposed in 1992. Aharonov and Kaufherr (PRL, 92, 070404, 2004) revisit the Aharonov-Bohm effect, and propose non-local exchange of a conserved, gauge invariant quantity that changes the modular momentum of the particle that is responsible for the AB phase shift. We suggest that the net angular momentum shifts proposed for GP may be analogous to the shift in the modulus momentum for the AB effect. At a single photon or electron level such non-trivial, geometric effects seem to hint at a new physics.
Abstract In the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect, interference fringes are observed for a charged particle in the absence of the local overlap with the external electromagnetic field. This notion of the apparent “nonlocality” of the interaction or the significant role of the potential have recently been challenged and are under debate. The quantum electrodynamic approach provides a microscopic picture of the characteristics of the interaction between a charge and an external field. We explicitly show the gauge invariance of the local phase shift in the magnetic AB effect, which is in contrast to the results obtained using the usual semiclassical vector potential. Our study can resolve the issue of the locality in the magnetic AB effect. However, the problem is not solved in the same way in the electric counterpart wherein virtual scalar photons play an essential role.