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Physical review. D. Particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology/Physical review. D. Particles and fields

Scattering of charged particles by magnetic strings

Silviu Olariu, I. Iovitzu Popescu

Published Jan 15, 1983• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In this paper we consider the scattering of charged particles by magnetic strings for several configurations of the incident state and of the enclosed flux. We analyze the scattering of a plane wave by an infinite magnetic string and show that the scattering contribution arises from flux-dependent phase shifts followed by quantum diffusion. Then we report that the amplitude for the scattering of a wave packet of finite extension by a magnetic string becomes exponentially small as the width of the packet goes to zero. At the same time the phase at the center of the incident wave packet is progressively shifted by an amount proportional to the enclosed flux, as predicted on the basis of the quasiclassical approximation. We consider further the scattering by a pair of parallel strings carrying opposite fluxes and show that the probability pattern is affected by the magnetic fluxes mainly in the vicinity of a finite surface spanning the two strings. We finally discuss the relevance for the Aharonov-Bohm effect of the multivalued gauge transformations which eliminate the potentials from the field-free region. The results reported in this paper confirm the reality of the quantum effects of remote fluxes, and prove that the state of the electromagnetic field is not completely determined by the local knowledge of the field strengths.

DOI
10.1103/physrevd.27.383

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In this paper we consider the scattering of charged particles by magnetic strings for several configurations of the incident state and of the enclosed flux. We analyze the scattering of a plane wave by an infinite magnetic string and show that the scattering contribution arises from flux-dependent phase shifts followed by quantum diffusion. Then we report that the amplitude for the scattering of a wave packet of finite extension by a magnetic string becomes exponentially small as the width of the packet goes to zero. At the same time the phase at the center of the incident wave packet is progressively shifted by an amount proportional to the enclosed flux, as predicted on the basis of the quasiclassical approximation. We consider further the scattering by a pair of parallel strings carrying opposite fluxes and show that the probability pattern is affected by the magnetic fluxes mainly in the vicinity of a finite surface spanning the two strings. We finally discuss the relevance for the Aharonov-Bohm effect of the multivalued gauge transformations which eliminate the potentials from the field-free region. The results reported in this paper confirm the reality of the quantum effects of remote fluxes, and prove that the state of the electromagnetic field is not completely determined by the local knowledge of the field strengths.
Magnetic potentials have a direct significance to the motion of particles in quantum mechanics. This is known as the Aharonov-Bohm effect. We study this quantum property in the scattering by two magnetic fields at large separation in two dimensions. We derive the asymptotic formula of scattering amplitude when the distance between the centers of two fields goes to infinity. The result depends on the fluxes of fields and on incident and final directions. We here consider only the simple case that at least one of two fluxes is zero.
This paper is a review of the problem of the observable action of enclosed electromagnetic fluxes on the quantum-mechanical state of charged particles, known as the Aharonov-Bohm effect. The authors first describe the quantum effects of the fluxes in the quasiclassical approximation, and discuss their relation with basic quantum-mechanical principles. Then they examine the influence of modeling assumptions on the predicted effects of enclosed fluxes. They analyze the experiments demonstrating the reality of the quantum effects of electromagnetic and gravitational fluxes, and finally discuss the physical significance of these quantum effects, comparing the current interpretation, based on the concept of a nonintegrable phase factor, with alternative approaches.
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.
This work analyzes the effects of shielding on the Aharonov-Bohm scattering of electrons endowed with spin. The interaction of polarized electrons with bare and shielded magnetic strings is studied with the aid of the Dirac equation. It is found that the difference between the amplitudes for the scattering by bare and shielded strings of incident wave packets of width δδδ and impact parameter ddd is proportional to exp⁡(−d2/2δ2)\exp(-d^2/2δ^2)exp(−d2/2δ2).
The Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect highlights the fundamental role of electromagnetic potentials in quantum mechanics, manifesting as a phase shift for a charged particle in field-free regions. While well-established for static magnetic fluxes, the effect's behavior under time-varying fluxes remains an open and debated question. Employing the WKB method, we derive the AB phase shift for a time-dependent magnetic vector potential, demonstrating that for circular paths in the quasistatic regime, it is proportional to the time-averaged enclosed magnetic flux, ΔφAB=1T∫0TeΦ(t) dtΔφ_{\rm AB} = \frac{1}{T} \int_0^T e Φ(t) \, dtΔφAB​=T1​∫0T​eΦ(t)dt, with the total phase shift, including kinetic contributions, equaling eΦ(0)e Φ(0)eΦ(0). For non-circular paths, the phase shift depends on both the flux history and path geometry, revealing the effect's hybrid nature involving gauge potentials and induced electric fields. We verify the consistency of our gauge choice with Maxwell's equations and discuss the implications for local versus nonlocal interpretations of the AB effect. We also generalize the results to scenarios with nonzero external magnetic fields, where the enclosed flux is through the actual electron paths, and for circular paths of radius RRR, the AB phase shift is also proportional to the time average of the enclosed flux Φenc(R,t)Φ_{\rm enc}(R,t)Φenc​(R,t), with the total phase shift depending only on the initial enclosed flux eΦenc(R,0)e Φ_{\rm enc}(R,0)eΦenc​(R,0); for general non-circular paths, the external magnetic field affects trajectories and phase accumulation through the Lorentz force, leading to additional path dependence. These findings clarify the role of gauge-dependent potentials and induced fields in the generalized AB effect, offering new theoretical insights and potential applications in quantum technologies.
The Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect is a pure quantum effect that implies a measurable phase shift in the wave function for a charged particle that encircles a magnetic flux located in a region inaccessible to the particle. Classically, such a nonlocal effect appears to be impossible since the Lorentz force depends on only the magnetic field at the location of the particle. In quantum mechanics, the Hamiltonian, and thus the Schr\"odinger equation, has a local coupling between the current due to the particle and the electromagnetic vector potential A\mathbf{A}A, which extends to the entire space beyond the region with finite magnetic field. This has sometimes been interpreted as meaning that in quantum mechanics A\mathbf{A}A is in some sense more ``fundamental'' than B\mathbf{B}B in spite of the former being gauge dependent and thus unobservable. Here we shall, with a general proof followed by a few examples, demonstrate that the AB effect can be fully accounted for by considering only the gauge-invariant B\mathbf{B}B field, as long as it is included as part of the quantum action of the entire isolated system. The price for the gauge-invariant formulation is that we must give up locality---the AB phase for the particle will arise from the change in the action for the B\mathbf{B}B field in the region inaccessible to the particle.