Quantum phase effects for electrically charged particles: converging descriptions via fields and potentials

Abstract

We analyze the physical meaning of quantum phase effects from a new perspective, related to our recent disclosure of two novel quantum phases for electric/magnetic dipoles – in addition to the previously known Aharonov-Casher and He-McKellar-Wilkens phases, and two novel quantum phases for point-like charged particles – in addition to the electric and magnetic Aharonov-Bohm phases. We show that the obtained complete expression for the quantum phase of a moving charge in an EM field allows to establish its direct link with the interactional electromagnetic momentum in the system “particle and external field” and to better understand the physical meaning of quantum phase effects, which is discussed using a number of particular examples.