Topological interpretation of electric charge and the Aharonov-Bohm effect in 2+1 dimensions

Journal Article · Mon Sep 16 00:00:00 EDT 1991 · Physical Review Letters; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.67.1490· OSTI ID:5219781

Kovner, A; Rosenstein, B ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, (Canada)

We present a low-energy Lagrangian of planar QED written in terms of the local field {ital V}({ital x}), which is the order-parameter field for the Higgs-Coulomb phase transition. In this theory, the electric charge is topological and is quantized on the {ital classical} {ital level}.$---- The relevant homotopy group is {Pi}{sub 1}({ital scrM})={ital scrZ}, where {ital scrM}={ital scrS}{sup 1} is the manifold of degenerate vacuum states in the Coulomb phase. This vacuum degeneracy is due to spontaneous breaking of a global U(1) symmetry generated by magnetic flux. The electrically charged particles are topological defects of the field {ital V}({ital x}). The Aharonov-Bohm effect is understood without use of gauge potential and is a consequence of the extended nature of the charged particles.

• OSTI ID: 5219781
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters; (United States), Vol. 67:12; ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS
TOPOLOGY
ELECTRIC CHARGES
GAUGE INVARIANCE
MAGNETIC FIELDS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
SOLITONS
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
ELECTRODYNAMICS
FIELD THEORIES
INVARIANCE PRINCIPLES
MATHEMATICS
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
QUASI PARTICLES
645202* - High Energy Physics- Particle Interactions & Properties-Theoretical- Electromagnetic Interactions & Properties
645300 - High Energy Physics- Particle Invariance Principles & Symmetries