# Aharonov-Bohm defects

## TL;DR

This paper explores how Aharonov-Bohm phases influence the formation and confinement of topological defects, introducing the concept of 'AB defects' in gauge theories with scalar fields, with implications for various physical systems.

## Contribution

It introduces the concept of 'AB defects' arising from AB phases in gauge theories and analyzes their formation, confinement, and spontaneous symmetry breaking effects.

## Key findings

- AB phases can turn Alice strings into global strings or confine them with domain walls.
- The phenomenon of AB defects is likely to be common in different physical systems.
- Spontaneous breaking of spatial rotation occurs around AB defects in certain conditions.

## Abstract

We discuss what happens when a field receiving an Aharonov-Bohm (AB) phase develops a vacuum expectation value (VEV), with an example of an Alice string in a $U(1) \times SU(2)$ gauge theory coupled with complex triplet scalar fields. We introduce scalar fields belonging to the doublet representation of $SU(2)$, charged or chargeless under the $U(1)$ gauge symmetry, that receives an AB phase around the Alice string. When the doublet develops a VEV, the Alice string turns to a global string in the absence of the interaction depending on the relative phase between the doublet and triplet, while, in the presence of such an interaction, the Alice string is confined by a soliton or domain wall and therefore the spontaneous breaking of a spatial rotation around the string is accompanied. We call such an object induced by an AB phase as an ``AB defect'', and argue that such a phenomenon is ubiquitously appearing in various systems.