Induced vacuum current and magnetic field in the background of a vortex

TL;DR

This paper investigates how a quantum scalar field in the background of an Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen vortex induces a circulating vacuum current and magnetic field, demonstrating a quantum Aharonov-Bohm effect with significant implications.

Contribution

It reveals the induced vacuum current and magnetic field in the vortex background, highlighting their periodic dependence on gauge flux and the quantum nature of the Aharonov-Bohm effect.

Findings

Vacuum current circulates around the vortex.

Induced magnetic field aligned with the vortex.

Effects are significant even when the Compton wavelength exceeds the vortex size by three orders of magnitude.

Abstract

A topological defect in the form of the Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen vortex is considered as a gauge-flux-carrying tube that is impenetrable for quantum matter. Charged scalar matter field is quantized in the vortex background with the perfectly reflecting (Dirichlet) boundary condition imposed at the side surface of the vortex. We show that a current circulating around the vortex and a magnetic field directed along the vortex are induced in the vacuum, if the Compton wavelength of the matter field exceeds considerably the transverse size of the vortex. The vacuum current and magnetic field are periodic in the value of the gauge flux of the vortex, providing a quantum-field-theoretical manifestation of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. The total flux of the induced vacuum magnetic field attains noticeable finite values even for the Compton wavelength of the matter field exceeding the transverse size of the vortex by just three orders of magnitude.