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arXiv · 0709.0661

Unresolved Classical Electromagnetic Aspects of the Aharonov-Bohm Phase Shift

Timothy H. Boyer
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Abstract

The long-standing controversy regarding the Aharonov-Bohm phase shift is reviewed. The shifts of both optical and particle interference patterns are summarized. It is pointed out that a line of electric dipoles and a line of magnetic dipoles (a long solenoid) both produce experimentally observed phase shifts similar to that produced by introducing a rectangular block of glass behind one slit of a double-slit interference pattern; the double-slit pattern is shifted while the single-slit envelope remains undisplaced. The quantum explanation for the magnetic interference pattern shift introduced by Aharonov and Bohm in 1959 involves completely different ideas from those suggested by a semiclassical analysis. Experiments planned by Caprez, Barwick, and Batelaan should clarify the connections between classical and quantum theories in connection with the Ahronov-Bohm phase shift.

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Timothy H. Boyer. 2007-09-05. Unresolved Classical Electromagnetic Aspects of the Aharonov-Bohm Phase Shift. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2827334

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