Topological phases reviewed: The Aharonov Bohm, Aharonov Casher, and He McKellar Wilkens phases
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Particle Physics at the Terrascale, School of Physics, University of Melbourne (Australia)
- Department of Physics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (China)
- School of Physics, University of Melbourne (Australia)
There are three topological phases related to electromagnetic interactions in quantum mechanics: 1. The Aharonov Bohm phase acquired when a charged particle encircles a magnetic field but travels through a field free region. 2. The Aharonov Casher phase acquired when a magnetic dipole encircles electric charges but travels through a charge free region. 3. The He McKellar Wilkens phase acquired when an electric dipole encircles magnetic charges but travels through a charge free region. We review the conditions under which these phases are indeed topological and their experimental realisation. Because the He McKellar Wilkens phase has been recently observed we pay particular attention to how the basic concept of 'an electric dipole encircles magnetic charges' was realised experimentally, and discuss possible future experimental realisations.
- OSTI ID:
- 22266185
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1588, Issue 1; Conference: 4. international meeting on frontiers in physics, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), 27-30 Aug 2013; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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