Scalar Aharonov-Bohm experiment with neutrons

Aharonov-Casher and scalar Aharonov-Bohm topological effects

We reexamine the topological and nonlocal natures of the Aharonov-Casher and scalar Aharonov-Bohm phase effects. The underlying U(1) gauge structure is exhibited explicitly. And the conditions for developing topological Aharonov-Casher and scalar Aharonov-Bohm phases are clarified. We analyze the arguments of M. Peshkin and H. J. Lipkin [Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 2847 (1995)] in detail and show that they are based on the wrong Hamiltonian which yields their conclusion incorrect.

Classical and quantum interaction of the dipole

A unified and fully relativistic treatment of the interaction of the electric and magnetic dipole moments of a particle with the electromagnetic field is given. New forces on the particle due to the combined effect of electric and magnetic dipoles are obtained. Several new experiments are proposed, which include observation of topological phase shifts.

Complementarity between local and nonlocal topological effects

In certain topological effects the accumulation of a quantum phase shift is accompanied by a local observable effect. We show that such effects manifest a complementarity between nonlocal and local attributes of the topology, which is reminiscent but different from the usual wave-particle complementarity. This complementarity is not a consequence of noncommutativity, rather it is due to the noncanonical nature of the observables. We suggest that a local/nonlocal complementarity is a general feature of topological effects that are "dual" to the Aharonov-Bohm effect.