The Aharonov-Bohm Effect
30 years ago, the Aharonov-Bohm effect was predicted for the first time; since then, this quantum phenomenon which so grossly irritates a physical intuition trained in Maxwellian electrodynamics, has been discussed and studied both experimentally and theo
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340 M. Peshkin A. Tonomura
The Aharonov-Bohm Effect
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg NewYork London ParisTokyo HongKong
Authors
M. Peshkin Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 6 0 4 3 9 - 4 8 4 3 , USA A. Tonomura Advanced Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. Kokubunji, Tokyo 185, Japan
ISBN 3-540-51567-4 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg N e w Y o r k ISBN 0-387-51567-4 Springer-Verlag N e w Y o r k Berlin Heidelberg
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PREFACE The Aharonov-Bohm effect is a quantum-mechanical phenomenon wherein the motion of a charged particle is influenced by the existence of electromagnetic fields in regions which the particle does not enter. The influence of those remote fields is carried in the theory by the four-vector potential, which appears in the Hamiltonian and therefore in the Schroedinger equation. This phenomenon is counter-intuitive for many physicists because it has no classical analog and because it challenges the conventional perception that the physical quantities in electromagnetism are carried by the local Maxwell fields, not by the potentials. If confirmed by experiment, the Aharonov-Bohm effect raises fundamental questions about locality in quantum mechanics and in the electromagnetic interaction. If refuted, it requires either a drastic revision of supposedly fundamental ideas about quantum mechanics or a demonstration that some error has been made and standard quantum mechanics does not really imply the existence of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Either way, it addresses questions about quantum mechanics in a multiplyconnected region that have been recognized as options in the theory but that have not been investigated by sufficiently sensitive experiments in the past. These considerations have stimulated a lively theoretical and experimental effort for the past thirty years, with almost every possibility represented and with much debate about the status of experiments and of calculations. Now the main issues appear to be clear. Almost everyone agrees that the Aharonov-Bohm effect is confirmed by experiment and that it is a genuine feature of standard quantum mechanics. In this treatise, we give an account of the experiments and of the fundamental theoretical questions that they illuminate. Our intende
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