Aharonov-Bohm effect in bound states: Theoretical and experimental status

Abstract

The Aharonov-Bohm effect has recently been questioned on theoretical and experimental grounds. Such discussions have suffered from ambiguities which resulted from their focusing on scattering states. It is noted here that the bound-state problem is much simpler. To avoid the Aharonov-Bohm effect in theory requires us to abandon the most fundamental ideas of quantum mechanics. The quantization of flux in superconducting rings and Josephson junctions is a powerful experimental confirmation.