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arXiv:quant-ph/0007118 · Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General

Relativistic Aharonov-Casher phase in spin 1

J.A. Swansson, Bruce H. J. McKellar

Published Jan 25, 2001• 15 citations
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Abstract

The Aharonov-Casher (AC) phase is calculated in relativistic wave equations of spin 1. The AC phase has previously been calculated from the Dirac-Pauli equation using a gauge-like technique. In the spin-1 case, we use Kemmer theory (a Dirac-like particle theory) to calculate the phase in a similar manner. However, the vector formalism, the Proca theory, is more widely known and used. In the presence of an electromagnetic field, the two theories are `equivalent' and may be transformed into one another. We adapt these transformations to show that the Kemmer theory results apply to the Proca theory. Then we calculate the Aharonov-Casher phase for spin-1 particles directly in the Proca formalism.

DOI
10.1088/0305-4470/34/5/309

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Modern Physics Letters A•Jun 4, 2010•1 citation
The Aharonov-Casher (AC) phase is calculated in relativistic wave equations of spin 1. The AC phase has previously been calculated from the Dirac-Pauli equation using a gauge-like technique. In the spin-1 case, we use Kemmer theory (a Dirac-like particle theory) to calculate the phase in a similar manner. However, the vector formalism, the Proca theory, is more widely known and used. In the presence of an electromagnetic field, the two theories are `equivalent' and may be transformed into one another. We adapt these transformations to show that the Kemmer theory results apply to the Proca theory. Then we calculate the Aharonov-Casher phase for spin-1 particles directly in the Proca formalism.
The relation of the Aharonov-Casher (AC) effect and the force on a particle having a magnetic moment is explored. The general form of the AC Hamiltonian is derived using the Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation to the Dirac equation. Geometries in which an analytic expression for the phase can be obtained are examined, as well as the relation of the AC phase to the Berry phase. The AC phase is determined for an arbitrary homogeneous electric field; it is quadratic (linear) in the field strength for small (large) electric field strengths.
The relation of the Aharonov-Casher (AC) effect and the force on a particle having a magnetic moment is explored. The general form of the AC Hamiltonian is derived using the Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation to the Dirac equation. Geometries in which an analytic expression for the phase can be obtained are examined, as well as the relation of the AC phase to the Berry phase. The AC phase is determined for an arbitrary homogeneous electric field; it is quadratic (linear) in the field strength for small (large) electric field strengths.
We consider two two-dimensional (2D) electronic systems in the presence of a perpendicular homogeneous electric field that generates a Rashba spin-orbit interaction (RSOI): a system of non-interacting electrons in a 2D conductor, modeled using the 2D Schrödinger equation (SE), and a single-layer graphene system, modeled using a 2D Dirac equation (DE) for massless fermions. In both cases the RSOI is expressed via an SU(2)SU(2)SU(2) Rashba vector potential AR{\bf A}_{R}AR​. We demonstrate that AR{\bf A}_{R}AR​ cannot be eliminated from either the 2D SE or the 2D DE via a gauge transformation. Nevertheless, for a plane wave solution, an SU(2)SU(2)SU(2) matrix exists that eliminates AR{\bf A}_{R}AR​ from the resulting 1D SE. This unitary matrix is an Aharonov-Casher (AC) phase factor, and facilitates the calculation of the AC phase in the Schrödinger scheme. The plane wave solution for the DE contains two components of AR{\bf A}_{R}AR​: AR,kA_{R, k}AR,k​ in the direction of the wave vector k{\bf k}k, and AR,nA_{R, n}AR,n​ normal to k{\bf k}k. The latter generates an effective electron mass that cannot be eliminated from the DE. The former generates an AC phase that can be eliminated by a time-dependent unitary transformation. Thus, the Dirac AC phase is time-dependent, i.e., it is a dynamical phase. This is in contradistinction to the Schrödinger AC phase which is geometrical.
The scattering of relativistic spin-1/2 neutral particles with a magnetic dipole moment by a long straight charged line and a magnetic flux line at the same position is studied. The scattering cross sections for unpolarized and polarized particles are obtained by solving the Dirac-Pauli equation. The results are in general the same as those for pure Aharonov-Casher scattering (by the charged line alone) as expected. However, in special cases when the incident energy, the line charge density, and the magnetic flux satisfy some relations, the cross section for polarized particles is dramatically changed. Relations between the polarization of incident particles and that of scattered ones are presented, both in the full relativistic case and the nonrelativistic limit. The characteristic difference between the general and special cases lies in the backward direction: in the general cases the incident particles are simply bounced while in the special cases their polarization is turned over simultaneously. For pure Aharonov-Casher scattering there exist cases where the helicities of all scattered particles are reversed. This seems to be remarkable but appears unnoticed previously. Two mathematical approaches are employed to deal with the singularity of the electric and magnetic field and it turns out that the physical results are essentially the same.
In the Aharonov–Casher (AC) scattering, a neutral particle interacts with an infinitesimally thin, long charge filament resulting in a phase shift. In the original AC treatment, a ∇ · E term proportional to the charge density at the filament's position is dropped from the Hamiltonian on the basis that the particle is banned from the filament, thus, the resulting Hamiltonian compares with the Aharonov–Bohm Hamiltonian of a scalar particle. Here, we consider AC scattering with this term included. Starting from the three-dimensional nonrelativistic Aharonov–Casher (AC) Schrödinger equation with the ∇ · E term included, we find the wave functions — in particular their singular component — the phase shifts and thus compute the scattering amplitudes and cross-sections. We show that singular solutions in the AC case appear only when the delta function interaction introduced is attractive regardless of the spin orientation of the particle. We find that the inclusion of this term does not introduce a structural difference in the general form of the cross-section even for polarized particles. Its mere effect, is in shifting the parameter N (the greatest integer in α) that appears in the cross-section, in the attractive case, by one. Interesting situation appears when N = 0, thus α=δ, in the case α≻0, and N = -1, so α = 1-δ in the case α≺0: At these values of the parameter N, where αis just any fraction, the cross-section for a particle polarized in the scattering plane to scatter in a state with the same polarization, is isotropic. It also vanishes, at these values of N, for transitions between same-helicity eigenstates. For these values of the parameter N and at the special values α = ±1/2, the cross-sections for both signs of α coincide. The main differences between this model and the "mathematically equivalent" spin-1/2 AB theory are outlined.