A Macroscopic Test of the Aharonov-Bohm Effect

Authors

Adam Caprez, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Brett E. Barwick, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Herman Batelaan, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

ORCID IDs

Herman Batelaan

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2007

Citation

Physical Review Letters (2007) 99: 210401.

Comments

Copyright 2007, American Physical Society. Used by permission.

Abstract

The Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect is a purely quantum mechanical effect. The original (classified as Type-I) AB-phase shift exists in experimental conditions where the electromagnetic fields and forces are zero. It is the absence of forces that makes the ABeffect entirely quantum mechanical. Although the AB-phase shift has been demonstrated unambiguously, the absence of forces in Type-I AB-effects has never been shown. Here, we report the observation of the absence of time delays associated with forces of the magnitude needed to explain the AB-phase shift for a macroscopic system.