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1. Verfasser: Santos, Renato Vieira dos
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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Online-Zugang:https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.08148
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author Santos, Renato Vieira dos
author_facet Santos, Renato Vieira dos
contents The electric Aharonov-Bohm effect -- a time-dependent scalar potential imparting a measurable phase shift on electrons in a region free of electromagnetic fields -- has never been experimentally tested in its original formulation with shielded, time-dependent potentials. This unexplored regime offers a rare opportunity: the Lorenz condition $\partial_μA^μ= 0$, a choice that eliminates a scalar degree of freedom from the electromagnetic potential, may not be the last word. If the Stueckelberg scalar $B = \partial_μA^μ$ survives as a physical field and couples to matter, it would produce a phase shift with a distinctive $1-\cos(ωT)$ signature -- orthogonal to the standard $\sin(ωT)$ and separable by a frequency sweep even if both contributions coexist. We propose a measurement protocol based on single-electron interferometry with picosecond time resolution, within reach of current technology. The experiment asks a question that has lingered since 1959: is the Lorenz gauge a matter of convenience, or a matter of principle?
format Preprint
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institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
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spellingShingle Beyond the Lorenz Gauge: Probing a Stueckelberg Scalar in the Electric Aharonov-Bohm Effect
Santos, Renato Vieira dos
Quantum Physics
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
The electric Aharonov-Bohm effect -- a time-dependent scalar potential imparting a measurable phase shift on electrons in a region free of electromagnetic fields -- has never been experimentally tested in its original formulation with shielded, time-dependent potentials. This unexplored regime offers a rare opportunity: the Lorenz condition $\partial_μA^μ= 0$, a choice that eliminates a scalar degree of freedom from the electromagnetic potential, may not be the last word. If the Stueckelberg scalar $B = \partial_μA^μ$ survives as a physical field and couples to matter, it would produce a phase shift with a distinctive $1-\cos(ωT)$ signature -- orthogonal to the standard $\sin(ωT)$ and separable by a frequency sweep even if both contributions coexist. We propose a measurement protocol based on single-electron interferometry with picosecond time resolution, within reach of current technology. The experiment asks a question that has lingered since 1959: is the Lorenz gauge a matter of convenience, or a matter of principle?
title Beyond the Lorenz Gauge: Probing a Stueckelberg Scalar in the Electric Aharonov-Bohm Effect
topic Quantum Physics
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.08148