Microscopic theory of the Aharonov-Bohm effect

A fully quantum theory of the Aharonov-Bohm effect is presented. It is based on the interaction, mediated by virtual photon exchange, between the traveling electron and the atomic magnetic dipoles of an infinitely long permanent magnet. The calculation involves second-order time-dependent perturbati...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Santos, E., Gonzalo Fonrodona, Isabel
Format: article
Publication Date:1999
Country:España
Institution:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repository:Docta Complutense
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/59535
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/59535
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:535
Physics
Multidisciplinary
Óptica (Física)
2209.19 Óptica Física
Description
Summary:A fully quantum theory of the Aharonov-Bohm effect is presented. It is based on the interaction, mediated by virtual photon exchange, between the traveling electron and the atomic magnetic dipoles of an infinitely long permanent magnet. The calculation involves second-order time-dependent perturbation theory. As expected, the relative phase between the two states -corresponding to the two alternative paths- interfering on the screen agrees with that predicted in the usual theory. However our method may allow to get corrections, for instance due to the size and shape of the electron wave packet, the possible soft-photon emission or the excitation of the atoms in the magnet.