External time-varying fields and electron coherence.
The effect of time-varying electromagnetic fields on electron coherence is investigated. A sinusoidal electromagnetic field produces a time-varying Aharonov-Bohm phase. In a measurement of the interference pattern which averages over this phase, the effect is a loss of contrast. This is effectively a form of decoherence. We calculate the magnitude of this effect for various electromagnetic field configurations. The result seems to be sufficiently large to be observable.
Hsiang
Jen-Tsung
JT
Institute of Cosmology, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA. jen-tsung.hsiang@tufts.edu
Ford
L H
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