The exact energy spectrum and wave function of a charged particle moving in the Coulomb field and Aharonov-Bohm's magnetic flux are solved by the nonintegrable phase factor. The universal formula for the matrix elements of the radial operator ${r}^{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ of arbitrary power $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ is given by an analytical solution. The difference between the classical limit of matrix elements of inverse radius in quantum mechanics and the Fourier components of the corresponding quantity for the pure Coulomb system in classical mechanics is examined in reference to the correspondence principle of Heisenberg. Explicit calculation shows that the influence of nonlocal Aharonov-Bohm effect exists even in the classical limit. The semiclassical quantization rule for systems containing the topological effect is presented in the light of Heisenberg's corresponding principle.
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=T1∫0TeΦ(t)dt, with the total phase shift, including kinetic contributions, equaling
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
R, the AB phase shift is also proportional to the time average of the enclosed flux
Φenc(R,t), with the total phase shift depending only on the initial enclosed flux
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, 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 is in some sense more ``fundamental'' than
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 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 field in the region inaccessible to the particle.
The Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect in non-commutative quantum mechanics (NCQM) is studied. First, by introducing a shift for the magnetic vector potential we give the Schr
ddotodinger equations in the presence of a magnetic field on NC space and NC phase space, respectively. Then by solving the Schr
ddotodinger equations, we obtain the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) phase on NC space and NC phase space, respectively.
An asymptotic formula for the energy eigenvalues of a charged particle contained in a cylindrical shell is derived. The formula is used to estimate the eigenvalues when there is a cylindrically symmetric static magnetic-induction field present and the system exhibits the bound-state Aharonov-Bohm effect. It is shown that the errors involved form an sequence with terms labelled by the radial quantum number. Numerical approximations obtained from the asymptotic formula are compared to those obtained from analytical solutions of Schrödinger's equation in the following two cases. (i) There is no magnetic-induction field in the shell itself but there is a field inside the inner cylinder. (ii) There is a constant magnetic-induction field in the shell as well as a (possibly different) field inside the inner cylinder. In these cases, the radial eigenfunctions are expressible in terms of Bessel functions and confluent hypergeometric functions, respectively. The numerical results are consistent with the asymptotic character of the formula for the energy eigenvalues.
In quantum mechanics, the magnetic field has a physical effect beyond its local presence. For axially symmetric vector potentials, A=A(s,z)ϕ̂, it is the magnetic flux that plays a central role in both interference experiments (as in the Aharonov-Bohm effect) and in bound state spectra for a particle constrained to move in a circle. The flux dependence is evident in various configurations, and we have chosen two applications to highlight the non-local nature of the quantum mechanical magnetic field dependence: A finite solenoid and a Dirac string with a non-zero radius. The finite solenoid is interesting because it represents the actual experimental apparatus for measuring the Aharonov-Bohm effect. The Dirac string provides an electric charge quantization mechanism that depends on where the quantization argument is applied, yielding different fundamental charge units for different locations.