Global Analogue of the Aharonov-Bohm Effect

Citation

Navin, Robert Lloyd (1993) Global Analogue of the Aharonov-Bohm Effect. Dissertation (Ph.D.), California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/crgk-1x57. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:12282012-124421666

Abstract

This thesis deals with a global analogue of the Aharonov-Bohm effect previously pointed out by other authors. The effect was not well understood because the pure Aharonov-Bohm cross section was thought to be merely an approximate low energy limit. This thesis provides a detailed analysis and reveals that in the particular model considered, there is an exact Aharonov-Bohm cross section over the energy range that a mass splitting occurs. At energies slightly above the mass splitting, the effect has completely disappeared and there is effectively no scattering at large distances. This is a curious observation as it was previously thought that a global theory would not act exactly like a local one over an extended range of energies. It begs the heretical speculation that experimentally observed forces modelled with Lagrangians possessing local symmetries may have an underlying global theory.

Thesis Files