Observation of the magnetic vector potential in the classical macrodomain

Abstract

Experimental observations of the magnetic vector potential in the classical macrodomain that are analogous to the Aharonov-Bohm effect in the quantum domain are reported here for the first time. These were motivated by the prediction of a Schrö dinger-like formalism that provides a probability amplitude description in the macrodomain of charged particles in a magnetic field and a curl-free vector potential. The observations thus demonstrate a rather surprising persistence of the quantum mechanical amplitude description (in a macroscopic form) into the classical domain, through the appearance, in the present case, of the curl-free vector potential in the phase of the macroscopic wave function, in the correspondence limit. These results would thus entail an enlargement of our understanding of charged particle dynamics in a magnetic field, and would necessitate a more appropriate distinguishing criterion between the classical and quantum behaviour for this system.