The ideal scalar Aharonov-Bohm (SAB) and Aharonov-Casher (AC) effect involve a magnetic dipole pointing in a certain fixed direction: along a purely time dependent magnetic field in the SAB case and perpendicular to a planar static electric field in the AC case. We extend these effects to arbitrary direction of the magnetic dipole. The precise conditions for having nondispersive precession and interference effects in these generalized set ups are delineated both classically and quantally. Under these conditions the dipole is affected by a nonvanishing torque that causes pure precession around the directions defined by the ideal set ups. It is shown that the precession angles are in the quantal case linearly related to the ideal phase differences, and that the nonideal phase differences are nonlinearly related to the ideal phase differences. It is argued that the latter nonlinearity is due the appearance of a geometric phase associated with the nontrivial spin path. It is further demonstrated that the spatial force vanishes in all cases except in the classical treatment of the nonideal AC set up, where the occurring force has to be compensated by the experimental arrangement. Finally, for a closed space-time loop the local precession effects can be inferred from the interference pattern characterized by the nonideal phase differences and the visibilities. It is argued that this makes it natural to regard SAB and AC as essentially local and nontopological effects.
The Aharonov-Casher effect, entry in the Compendium of Quantum Physics: Concepts, Experiments, History and Philosophy, ed. F. Weinert, K. Hentschel, D. Greenberger and B. Falkenburg (Springer), to appear
We reexamine the topological and nonlocal natures of the Aharonov-Casher and scalar Aharonov-Bohm phase effects. The underlying U(1) gauge structure is exhibited explicitly. And the conditions for developing topological Aharonov-Casher and scalar Aharonov-Bohm phases are clarified. We analyse the arguments of M. Peshkin and H. J. Lipkin (Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 2847(1995)) in detail and show that they are based on the wrong Hamiltonian which yields their conclusion incorrect.
For a believer in locality of Nature, the Aharonov-Bohm effect and the Aharonov-Casher effect are paradoxes. I discuss these and other Aharonov's paradoxes and propose a local explanation of these effects. If the solenoid in the Aharonov-Bohm effect is treated quantum mechanically, the effect can be explained via local interaction between the field of the electron and the solenoid. I argue that the core of the Aharonov-Bohm and the Aharonov-Casher effects is that of quantum entanglement: the quantum wave function describes all systems together.
Aharonov-Bohm (AB) and Aharonov-Casher (AC) effects are treated fully relativistically in 2+1 dimensions. The influences of the relevant geometric and topological phases on an entangled spin-1/2 system are studied. It is shown that for the AC case the correlation function of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) inequality for certain choices of the spin measurements depends on the AC phase explicitly.
We calculate the Abraham force and the Aharonov-Casher force exerted by the electromagnetic quantum vacuum on alkaline atoms in highly excited, long-living Rydberg states. Because of their high polarizability and long-life time such atoms are good candidates to observe these forces.
We consider the problem of the bound states of a spin 1/2 chargless particle in a given Aharonov-Casher configuration. To this end we recast the description of the system in a supersymmetric form. Then the basic physical requirements for unbroken supersymmetry are established. We comment on the possibility of neutron confinement in this system.
It is argued that the Aharonov-Casher set up could be used as the basic building block for quantum computation. We demonstrate explicitly in this scenario one- and two-qubit phase shift gates that are fault tolerant to deformations of the path when encircling two sites of the computational system around each other.
We use a covariant formalism that is capable of describing the electric and magnetic versions of the Aharonov-Bohm effect, as well as the Aharonov-Casher effect, through local interactions of charges and currents with the quantum electromagnetic field. By considering that only local interactions of a quantum particle with the quantum field can affect its behavior, we show that the magnetic Aharonov-Bohm effect must be present even if the solenoid generating the magnetic field is shielded by a perfect conductor, as experimentally demonstrated.
We determine the (bound) ground state of a spin 1/2 chargless particle with anomalous magnetic moment in certain Aharonov-Casher configurations. We recast the description of the system in a supersymmetric form. Then the basic physical requirements for unbroken supersymmetry are established. We comment on the possibility of neutron trapping in these systems.
The Aharonov-Casher (AC) phase is calculated in relativistic wave equations of spin one. The AC phase has previously been calculated from the Dirac-Pauli equation using a gauge-like technique \cite{MK1,MK2}. In the spin-one 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…
In this manuscript, we investigate the influence of the Aharonov-Casher effect on the generalized Dirac oscillator containing the Coulomb-type potential function related to a relativistic neutral particle having a permanent magnetic dipole moment interacting with the external electromagnetic fields in (1+2)-dimensional cosmic string space-time. The eigenfunctions and energy eigenvalues of such a Dirac oscillator are derived by using the Nikifornov-Uvarov method. We indicate that implementing the scenario gives the relativistic modified exact analytical solutions. In this way, we can see that t…
We propose the Aharonov-Casher (AC) effect for four entangled spin-half particles carrying magnetic moments in the presence of impenetrable line charge. The four particle state undergoes AC phase shift in two causually disconnected region which can show up in the correlations between different spin states of distant particles. This correlation can violate Bell's inequality, thus displaying the non-locality for four particle entangled states in an objective way. Also, we have suggested how to control the AC phase shift locally at two distant locations to test Bell's inequality. We belive that a…
Bell's inequality is established based on local realism. The violation of Bell's inequality by quantum mechanics implies either locality or realism or both are untenable. Leggett's inequality is derived based on nonlocal realism. The violation of Leggett's inequality implies that quantum mechanics is neither local realistic nor nonlocal realistic. The incompatibility of nonlocal realism and quantum mechanics has been urrently confirmed by photon experiments. In our work, we propose to test Leggett's inequality using the Aharonov-Casher effect. In our scheme, four entangled particles emitted fr…
Particle motion in the fields of Aharonov-Bohm and Aharonov-Casher is considered in framework of the classical theory to reveal conditions admitting duality of the two configurations. Important role of orientation of the magnetic dipole moment is demonstrated. Duality becomes totally destroyed by addition of electric dipole and/or higher multipole moments. Correspondence between quantum and classical considerations is also discussed.
We introduce an $SU(1,1)$ algebraic approach to study the $(2+1)$-Dirac oscillator in the presence of the Aharonov-Casher effect coupled to an external electromagnetic field in the Minkowski spacetime and the cosmic string spacetime. This approach is based on a quantum mechanics factorization method that allows us to obtain the $su(1,1)$ algebra generators, the energy spectrum and the eigenfunctions. We obtain the coherent states and their temporal evolution for each spinor component of this problem. Finally, for these problems, we calculate some matrix elements and the Schrödinger uncertainty…
In this Reply we argue that (i) the Hamiltonian, Eq. (17) in our paper (Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 070405 (2012)), is definitely Lorentz invariant; (ii) the conditions of generating topological Aharonov-Casher(AC) and Scalar Aharonov-Bohm (SAB) effects are essential and physically meaningful; (iii) the Hamiltonians both in Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 2847 (1995) and arXiv:1311.4011 are not suitable to describe the polarized spinor particles.
It is shown that the paper `Energy spectrum of a Dirac particle with position-dependent mass under the influence of the Aharonov-Casher effect', by Oliveira, Borges and Sousa [Braz. J. Phys. 49, 801 (2019)], is based on a series of ingredients clearly incorrect.
In this paper, we study the influence of the Aharonov-Casher effect [Y. Aharonov and A. Casher, Phys. Rev. Lett. 53, 319 (1984).] on the Dirac oscillator in three different scenarios of general relativity: the Minkowski spacetime, the cosmic string spacetime and the cosmic dislocation spacetime. In this way, we solve the Dirac equation and obtain the energy levels for bound states and the Dirac spinors for positive-energy solutions. We show that the relativistic energy levels depend on the Aharonov-Casher geometric phase. We also discuss the influence of curvature and torsion on the relativist…
The Aharonov Casher effect predicts the existence in two dimensions of ceil(Phi/2pi) -1 bounded zero modes associated with a magnetic flux Phi. Aharonov and Casher discussed the case of gyromagnetic factor equals 2, we will discuss the general case of any gyromagnetic factor. As a simple model, we study the case where the magnetic field lies in a thin annulus. First we examine the wavefunctions of the zero-energy bounded states, predicted by the Aharonov Casher Effect for electrons with gyromagnetic ratio equal 2. We then calculate the wave function and energies for a gyromagnetic ratio g not …
In this Comment we point out (i) that the Hamiltonian, Eq. (17) in the Letter(Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 070405 (2012)), is not a relativistic Hamiltonian, (ii) then that the conditions in the Letter are irrelevant for a topological AC and SAB effects, and (iii) conclusively that the non-relativistic Hamiltonian employed by Peshkin and Lipkin (Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 2847 (1995)) has the same $U(1)_{mm}$ gauge structure for a fixed spin and then is not wrong, but their incorrect interpretation of the spin autocorrelations led to the incorrect conclusion.
We establish systematic consolidation of the Aharonov-Bohm and Aharonov-Casher effects including their scalar counterparts. Their formal correspondences in acquiring topological phases are revealed on the basis of the gauge symmetry in non-simply connected spaces and the adiabatic condition for the state of magnetic dipoles. In addition, investigation of basic two-body interactions between an electric charge and a magnetic dipole clarifies their appropriate relative motions and discloses physical interrelations between the effects. Based on the two-body interaction, we also construct an exact …
In this paper we give a covariant expression for Aharonov-Casher phase. This expression is a combination of the canonical electric field, Aharonov-Casher phase plus a magnetic field phase shift. We use this covariant expression for the Aharonov-Casher phase to investigate the case of a neutral particle with a non-zero magnetic moment moving in the {\it time dependent} electric and magnetic fields of a plane electromagnetic wave background. We focus on the case where the magnetic moment of the particle is oriented so that both the electric and magnetic field lead to non-zero phases, and we look…
In this work, we study the Aharonov-Casher effect in the $(2+1)$-dimensional Dirac oscillator coupled to an external electromagnetic field. We set up our system in two different scenarios: in the Minkowski spacetime and the cosmic string spacetime. In both cases, we solve exactly the Dirac oscillator and we determine the energy spectrum and the eigenfunctions for the bound states. We verify that in the Minkowski spacetime, the Dirac oscillator spectrum depends linearly on the strength of the magnetic field $B$, and on the Aharonov-Casher phase. In addition, we explicitly obtain the corrections…
The Aharonov-Casher problem in the presence of a Lorentz-violating background nonminimally coupled to a spinor and a gauge field is examined. Using an approach based on the self-adjoint extension method, an expression for the bound state energies is obtained in terms of the physics of the problem by determining the self-adjoint extension parameter.
In this work bound states for the Aharonov-Casher problem are considered. According to Hagen's work on the exact equivalence between spin-1/2 Aharonov-Bohm and Aharonov-Casher effects, is known that the $\boldsymbol{\nabla}\cdot\mathbf{E}$ term cannot be neglected in the Hamiltonian if the spin of particle is considered. This term leads to the existence of a singular potential at the origin. By modeling the problem by boundary conditions at the origin which arises by the self-adjoint extension of the Hamiltonian, we derive for the first time an expression for the bound state energy of the Ahar…
A quantum effect characterized by a dependence of the angular frequency associated with the confinement of a neutral particle to a quantum ring on the quantum numbers of the system and the Aharonov-Casher geometric phase is discussed. Then, it is shown that persistent spin currents can arise in a two-dimensional quantum ring in the presence of a Coulomb-type potential. A particular contribution to the persistent spin currents arises from the dependence of the angular frequency on the geometric quantum phase.
Dipoles interference is studied when atomic systems are coupled to classical electromagnetic fields. The interaction between the dipoles and the classical fields induces a time-varying Aharonov-Casher phase. Averaging over the phase generates a suppression of fringe visibility in the interference pattern. We show that, for suitable experimental conditions, the loss of contrast for dipoles can be observable and almost as large as the corresponding one for coherent electrons. We analyze different trajectories in order to show the dependence of the decoherence factor with the velocity of the part…
We obtain exact solutions to the Dirac equation and the relevant binding energies in the combined Aharonov--Bohm--Coulomb potential in 2+1 dimensions. By means of solutions obtained the quantum Aharonov--Bohm effect is studied for free and bound electron states. We show that the total scattering amplitude in the combined Aharonov--Bohm--Coulomb potential is a sum of the Aharonov--Bohm and the Coulomb scattering amplitudes. This modifies expression for the standard Aharonov--Bohm cross section due to the interference these two amplitudes with each other.
It is shown that the molecular Aharonov-Bohm effect is neither nonlocal nor topological in the sense of the standard magnetic Aharonov-Bohm effect. It is further argued that there is a close relationship between the molecular Aharonov-Bohm effect and the Aharonov-Casher effect for an electrically neutral spin$-{1/2}$ particle encircling a line of charge.
A periodic network of connected rhombii, mimicking a spintronic device, is shown to exhibit an intriguing spin selective extreme localization, when submerged in a uniform out of plane electric field. The topological Aharonov Casher phase acquired by a travelling spin is seen to induce a complete caging, triggered at a special strength of the spin orbit coupling, for half odd integer spins s \ge n\hbar/2, with n odd, sparing the integer spins. The observation finds exciting experimental parallels in recent literature on caged, extreme localized modes in analogous photonic lattices. Our results …
We suggest a system in which the amplitude of macroscopic flux tunneling can be modulated via the Aharonov-Casher effect. The system is an rf-SQUID with the Josephson junction replaced by a Bloch transistor -- two junctions separated by a small superconducting island on which the charge can be induced by an external gate voltage. When the Josephson coupling energies of the junctions are equal and the induced charge is q=e, destructive interference between tunneling paths brings the flux tunneling rate to zero. The device may also be useful as a qubit for quantum computation.
We propose an experiment that would produce and measure a large Aharonov-Casher (A-C) phase in a solid-state system under macroscopic motion. A diamond crystal is mounted on a spinning disk in the presence of a uniform electric field. Internal magnetic states of a single NV defect, replacing interferometer trajectories, are coherently controlled by microwave pulses. The A-C phase shift is manifested as a relative phase, of up to 17 radians, between components of a superposition of magnetic substates, which is two orders of magnitude larger than that measured in any other atom-scale quantum sys…
The Schrodinger formalism of quantum mechanics is used to demonstrate the existence of the Aharonov-Bohm effect in momentum space and set-ups for experimentally demonstrating it are proposed for either free or ballistic electrons.
The Aharonov-Casher (AC) effect for quantum motion of a neutral magnetized particle in the electric field is believed to be a topological effect closely related to the known Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect. We study how it depends on the spin of the particle involved. Duality of the AB and AC effects is demonstrated to exist only for two extreme spin (and magnetic moment) projections. Classical consideration confirms the conclusion. Motion of a classical magnetized particle with generally oriented magnetic moment in the AC field appears to be subjected to both forces and torques. Only for two specia…
A quaternionic analog of the Aharonov-Bohm effect is developed without the usual anti-hermitian operators in quaternionic quantum mechanics (QQM). A quaternionic phase links the solutions obtained to ordinary complex wave functions, and new theoretical studies and experimental tests are possible for them.
Although the Aharonov-Bohm and related effects are familiar in solid state and high energy physics, the nonlocality of these effects has been questioned. Here we show, for the first time, that the Aharonov-Bohm effect has two very different aspects. One aspect is instantaneous and nonlocal; the other aspect, which depends on entanglement, unfolds continuously over time. While local, gauge-invariant variables may occasionally suffice for explaining the continuous aspect, we argue that they cannot explain the instantaneous aspect. Thus the Aharonov-Bohm effect is, in general, nonlocal.
A useful and universal formula for the expectation value of the radial operator in the presence of the Aharonov-Bohm flux and the Coulomb Field is established. We find that the expectation value $< r^λ>$ $(-\infty \leq λ\leq \infty)$ is greatly affected due to the non-local effect of the magnetic flux although the Aharonov-Bohm flux does not have any dynamical significance in classical mechanics. In particular, the quantum fluctuation increases in the presence of the magnetic flux due to the Aharonov-Bohm effect. In addition, the Virial theory in quantum mechanics is also constructed for the s…
The propagator of three-dimensional Aharonov-Bohm-Coulomb system is calculated by following the Duru-Kleinert method. It is shown that the system is reduced to two independent two dimensional Aharonov-Bohm plus harmonic oscillator systems through dimensional extension and Kustaanheimo-Stiefel transformation. The energy spectrum is deduced.
The possibility of quantum transmission of information via the induced fractional angular momentum by the Aharonov - Bohm vector potential is revealed. Its special advantage is that it is noiseless: Stray magnetic fields of environments influence the energy spectrum of the ion, but cannot contribute the fractional angular momentum to cause noise.
Quantum mechanics in noncommutative space modifies the standard result of the Aharonov-Bohm effect for electrons and other recent quantum effects. Here we obtain the phase in noncommutative space for the Spavieri effect, a generalization of Aharonov-bohm effect which involving a coherent superposition of particles with opposite charges moving along single open interferometric path. By means of the experimental considerations a limit $\sqrtθ\simeq\left( 0,13T\text{eV}\right) ^{-1}$ is achieved, improving by 10 orders of magnitude the derived by Chaichian et. al. for the Aharonov-Bohm effect. It…
The magnetic field due to the photon rest mass $m_{ph}$ modifies the standard results of the Aharonov-Bohm effect for electrons, and of other recent quantum effects. For the effect involving a coherent superposition of beams of particles with opposite electromagnetic properties, by means of a table-top experiment, the limit $m_{ph}x10^{-51}g$ is achievable, improving by 6 orders of magnitude that derived by Boulware and Deser for the Aharonov-Bohm effect.
In the original setting of the Aharonov-Bohm, the gauge invariant physical longitudinal mode of the vector potential, which is written by the gauge invariant physical current $(-e)\barψ{\boldsymbol γ} ψ$, gives the desired contribution to the Aharonov-Bohm effect. While the scalar mode of the vector potential, which changes under the gauge transformation so that it is the unphysical mode, give no contribution to the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Then Aharonov-Bohm effect really occurs by the physical longitudinal mode in the original Aharonov-Bohm's setting. In the setting of Tonomura {\it et al.}, wh…
An experiment is proposed in which the Aharonov-Bohm effect can be veryfied through a spectroscopic measurement. The apparatus consists of gaseous hydrochloric acid (HCl) immersed in the vector potential ${\bf A}$ present in the center of a toroidal coil, where ${\bf B}=0$. Changes due to ${\bf A}$ in the absorption spectrum of the gas are investigated.
The effects of a Lorentz symmetry violating background vector on the Aharonov-Casher scattering in the nonrelativistic limit is considered. By using the self-adjoint extension method we found that there is an additional scattering for any value of the self-adjoint extension parameter and non-zero energy bound states for negative values of this parameter. Expressions for the energy bound states, phase-shift and the scattering matrix are explicitly determined in terms of the self-adjoint extension parameter. The expression obtained for the scattering amplitude reveals that the helicity is not co…
In this note we present a simplified derivation of the fact that the moduli space of flat connections in the abelian Aharonov-Bohm effect is isomorphic to the circle. The length of this circle is the electric charge.
An experiment that shows the modulation of the Aharonov-Bohm oscillations of magneto-resistance in a mesoscopic ring is described. Possible theoretical explanations of this modulation due to the interaction of the electron spin with the magnetic and electric fields are considered.
It is shown that the phase of the hidden momentum in Aharonov-Bohm (AB) solenoid effect is equal in magnitude to the phase of the electron but with opposite sign. The phase of the hidden momentum is equal to that obtained by the energy of interference calculated in our previous paper (J.Opt.Soc.Am. B 17, 2052 2000).
When the magnetic vector potential is expressed in terms of the magnetic field it, is found to be explicitly non-local in space. This gives support to the conclusions of Aharonov et al. in a recent comment, that the Aharonov-Bohm effect may be interpreted as being either due to a local gauge potential or else due to non-local gauge-invariant fields but not due to local gauge-invariant fields.
A recent Letter [1] has proposed a device, consisting of an rf SQUID with the junction replaced by a double one, i.e. a Bloch transistor. For symmetric Josephson couplings, and for specific flux bias and gate voltage applied to the transistor's island, the tunneling of encircled flux between its two local potential minima is claimed to be suppressed completely due to destructive interference. This comment purports to show that this claim in general is not valid. Namely, the very Hamiltonian (1) in [1], from which the effect is derived, describes the circuit only under an additional condition. …
The original topological Aharonov-Casher (AC) effect is due to the interaction of the anomalous magnetic dipole moment (MDM) with certain configurations of electric field. Naively one would not expect an AC effect for a scalar particle for which no anomalous MDM can be defined in the usual sense. In this letter we study the AC effect in supersymmetric systems. In this framework there is the possibility of deducing the AC effect of a scalar particle from the corresponding effect for a spinor particle. In 3+1 dimensions such a connection is not possible because the anomalous MDM is zero if super…
I discuss in detail the history of the Aharonov-Bohm effect in Bristol and my encounters with Akira Tonomura later on. I then propose an idea that developed following the publication of the Aharonov-Bohm effect, namely the importance of modulo momentum and Heisenberg representation in dealing with non-local quantum phenomena.
We consider a neutral particle with permanent magnetic dipole moment in an elastic medium with the presence of a uniform distribution of screw dislocations interacting with a radial electric field. We show that the uniform distribution of dislocations plays the role of an effective uniform magnetic field, and obtain a spectrum of energy which depends on the Aharonov-Casher geometric phase [Y. Aharonov and A. Casher, Phys. Rev. Lett. 53, 319 (1984)]. Moreover, from the dependence of energy levels on the Aharonov-Casher geometric phase, we calculate the persistent spin currents in this elastic L…
