Phenomena similar to the magnetic Aharonov-Bohm effect

Myron Evans, Jean Pierre Vigier

R. Y. Chiao, Harold Hart, Michael Scheibner +4 more

We respond to the points raised in the preceding Comment [] on our recent work [], which introduced a theoretical framework for the scalar electric Aharonov-Bohm effect. In this Reply, we take the opportunity to address specific criticisms, by referring to foundational aspects of gauge invariance and time-dependent quantum systems. We explain why the gauging procedure used in the Comment leads to inconsistencies and show that, when applied similarly to the well-established magnetic Aharonov-Bohm effect, it would yield demonstrably incorrect conclusions. Moreover, we highlight the consistency of our results with canonical treatments of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, and we reaffirm the physicality of energy shifts in field-free regions, an effect observed in the magnetic and predicted in the electric Aharonov-Bohm contexts. We believe that this response contributes to a deeper understanding of the subtleties involved in gauge theory and quantum phase phenomena.

M. Peshkin, Harry J. Lipkin

Recent neutron interferometry experiments have been interpreted as demonstrating a new topological phenomenon similar in principle to the usual Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect, but with the neutron's magnetic moment replacing the electron's charge. We show that he new phenomenon, called scalar AB (SAB) effect, follows from an ordinary local interaction, contrary to the usual AB effect, and we argue that the SAB effect is not a topological effect by any useful definition. We find that SAB actually measures an apparently novel spin autocorrelation whose operator equations of motion contain the local torque in the magnetic field. We note that the same remarks apply to the Aharonov-Casher effect.

Ghislain Golse, Hamza Jirari, H. Kröger +1 more

Christopher Kohler Fachrichtung, Christopher Kohler

On the basis of the principle that topological quantum phases arise from the scattering around space-time defects in higher dimensional unification, a geometric model is presented that associates with each quantum phase an element of a transformation group. 1 Introduction Within a physical theory there are often effects or phenomena studied in idealized form in order to gain insight into the peculiarities of the theory. In Quantum Mechanics one such effect is the appearance of topological quantum phases in the wave functions of particles moving freely in multiply connected space-times the prototype of this effect being the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect [1], the appearance of a phase factor in the wave function of an electron which moves around a magnetic flux line. A similar effect is the Aharonov-Casher (AC) effect [2] which is obtained from the AB effect by replacing the flux line and the electron by a charged line and a neutral particle with magnetic moment, respectively. There have al...