Loopholes in the interpretation of experiments on the Aharonov-Bohm effect

TL;DR

This paper reevaluates experiments on the Aharonov-Bohm effect, questioning the assumption that no forces act on particles, and suggests further experiments to clarify this fundamental aspect.

Contribution

It provides a critical reassessment of experimental evidence regarding forces in the Aharonov-Bohm effect and proposes new experimental approaches.

Findings

Experimental data do not conclusively prove absence of forces

Debate on forces in the Aharonov-Bohm system remains unresolved

Proposes new experiments to detect dispersionless forces

Abstract

The independence of the Aharonov-Bohm phase shift on particle velocity is one of its defining properties. The classical counterpart to this dispersionless behavior is the absence of forces along the direction of motion of the particle. A reevaluation of the experimental demonstration that forces are absent in the AB physical system is given, including previously unpublished data. It is shown that the debate on the presence or absence of forces is not settled, and an experiment searching for dispersionless forces is proposed.