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Aharonov-Bohm: fringe shift from a flux line

What you are seeing: a solenoid (orange dot) sits between the two paths of a double-slit interferometer. Even though B=0\mathbf B = 0 outside the solenoid, the electron wavefunction picks up a phase δϕ=eΦ/\delta \phi = e \Phi / \hbar around the closed loop, shifting the fringes. The shift is exactly one fringe per flux quantum Φ0=h/e\Phi_0 = h/e.

Figure 1. Two-slit fringes shifted by enclosed flux.
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WHAT TO TRY

  • Vary each control and watch the rail readouts respond.
  • Compare the diagnostic plot against the live scene.