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Is magnetic flux quantified only in superconductors?
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Jarek Duda  
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 More options 31 Oct, 07:54
Newsgroups: sci.physics.research
From: Jarek Duda <duda...@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:54:18 +0000 (GMT)
Local: Sat 31 Oct 2009 07:54
Subject: Is magnetic flux quantified only in superconductors?
While considering superconductors, it is generally accepted that there
are created fluxons - some natural number of quantas of magnetic flux.
I wanted to ask if the situation isn't more general - is magnetic flux
quantified also in vacuum?
It is suggested by Aharonov-Bohm effect as in superconductors - that
the change of quantum phase is proportional to integral of
electromagnetic potential along this path and when we make a loop this
way, the phase has to make some integer number of rotations - this
number looks to be the number of flux quantas going through this loop.
If it's true, for example lines in nice animation on
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_reconnection
could be really physical.
If we would give them energy density per length, it would be intuitive
that while these reconnections are released bursts of energy (they are
quickly shorten).
Another argument that they should be quantified is that while we would
track along such magnetic line, we should finally get to a single
particles (fermions).
Treating them seriously could for example explain fermion pairing
(like Cooper pairs, electrons in orbitals) or atomic selection rules:
http://arxiv.org/abs/0910.2724

What do you think about it?


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Hendrik van Hees  
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 More options 1 Nov, 00:55
Newsgroups: sci.physics.research
From: Hendrik van Hees <Hendrik.vanH...@theo.physik.uni-giessen.de>
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 00:55:23 +0000 (UTC)
Local: Sun 1 Nov 2009 00:55
Subject: Re: Is magnetic flux quantified only in superconductors?
I'm not sure whether I understand your question right, but there's
nothing which forbids any value of the magnetic flux through a loop
around some magnetic field. The phase shift important for the Aharonov
Bohm effect is gauge invariant since it is proportional to the magnetic
flux which is a gauge invariant quantity.

The difference for superconductors is the following. Suppose you have a
superconducting ring in a magnetic field. From the Schrödinger equation
for a particle in an magnetic field, the phase change along an
arbitrary closed loop, C, is given by

\hbar c/Q Delta phi=\int_C d \vec{r}[\vec{A}(\vec{r)+ m c/Q^2
\vec{j}_{el}(\vec{r})/|\psi(\vec{r})|^2],

where \psi is the wave function of the particle with mass, m, and
electric charge, Q. \vec{A} is the vector potential describing the
external magnetic field.

According to Stoke's Law the first term on the rhs of this equation is
the magnetic flux.

Since the wave function has to be uniquely defined, this phase shift
must be an integer multiple of 4 pi.

There's no restriction for the magnetic flux, if you put your path
through normal-conducting material since there the electric current can
have an arbitrary value.

However, if you have superconducting material, the electric current has
to vanish strictly inside this material, and thus putting your
integration path along the superconducting ring in the above mentioned
situation, you have

\hbar c/Q \Delta phi=\Phi=\hbar c/Q n = n \Phi_0,

where n \in Z, i.e., the magnetic flux, Phi, through the superconducting
ring must be an integer multiple of the London-Flux Quantum,

Phi_0=\hbar c/Q

The experimental value is Q=-2 e, showing that the super current is
indeed carried by two electron charges as predicted by the BCS theory
for supercondtivity.

It is clear what happens when you cool down the conducting ring below
the critical temperature: Before the cooling, the material is
superconducting, and the magnetic flux can take any value. Cooling down
the ring, surface currents are induced such that an additional magnetic
field is created which together with the external field makes a flux,
which must be an integer multiple of \Phi_0.

--
Hendrik van Hees                Institut für Theoretische Physik
Phone:  +49 641 99-33342                Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen
Fax: +49 641 99-33309           D-35392 Gießen
http://theory.gsi.de/~vanhees/faq/

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Jarek Duda  
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 More options 1 Nov, 19:59
Newsgroups: sci.physics.research
From: Jarek Duda <duda...@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 19:59:39 +0000 (UTC)
Local: Sun 1 Nov 2009 19:59
Subject: Re: Is magnetic flux quantified only in superconductors?
But let's look at simpler static situation: we have a single particle
in some constant electromagnetic potential (in vacuum), for example
electron around proton (it has magnetic moment - creates also magnetic
field).
Now take some closed loop and look at particle's phase along this
loop:
> (...) From the Schrödinger equation
> for a particle in an magnetic field, the phase change along an
> arbitrary closed loop, C, is given by (...)
> According to Stoke's Law the first term on the rhs of this equation is
> the magnetic flux.
> Since the wave function has to be uniquely defined, this phase shift
> must be an integer multiple of 4 pi.

Why it doesn't work in such situation?

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