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The optical Aharonov-Bohm effect

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Foundations of Physics Letters

Abstract

It is shown that the vector potential of a circularly polarized laser causes the optical equivalent of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. An estimate is made of the expected fringe shift due to a circularly polarized laser directed through an optical fiber in an electron diffraction experiment, and it is shown that the effect is equivalent to that of a magnetic field.

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Evans, M.W. The optical Aharonov-Bohm effect. Found Phys Lett 7, 467–474 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02189249

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02189249

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