The role of electron orbital angular momentum in the Aharonov-Bohm effect revisited

Abstract

This is a brief review on the theoretical interpretation of the Aharonov-Bohm effect, which also contains our new insight into the problem. A particular emphasis is put on the unique role of electron orbital angular momentum, especially viewed from the novel concept of the physical component of the gauge field, which has been extensively discussed in the context of the nucleon spin decomposition problem as well as the photon angular momentum decomposition problem. Practically, we concentrate on the frequently discussed idealized setting of the Aharonov-Bohm effect, i.e. the interference phenomenon of the electron beam passing around the infinitely-long solenoid. One of the most puzzling observations in this Aharonov-Bohm solenoid effect is that the pure-gauge potential outside the solenoid appears to carry non-zero orbital angular momentum. Through the process of tracing its dynamical origin, we try to answer several fundamental questions of the Aharonov-Bohm effect, which includes the question about the reality of the electromagnetic potential, the gauge-invariance issue, and the non-locality interpretation, etc.

arXiv commentThe version to appear in Annals of Physics. Some explanation on DeWitt's gauge-invariant formulation of the electrodynamics was added together with one new figure

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Cited by in corpus (8)

• The physics of helical electron beam in a uniform magnetic field as a testing ground of gauge principle
• Can classical electrodynamics predict nonlocal effects?
• Revisiting the compatibility problem between the gauge principle and the observability of the canonical orbital angular momentum in the Landau problem
• Topology, nonlocality and duality in classical electrodynamics
• The Aharonov-Bohm effect in a closed flux line
• A still unsettled issue in the nucleon spin decomposition problem : On the role of surface terms and gluon topology
• Gauge dependence of the Aharonov-Bohm phase in a quantum electrodynamics framework
• The quantum phase of a dyon