Newsgroups: sci.physics.plasma
From news@tue.nl Tue Jan 3 10:43:32 1995
From: matthijs@stack.urc.tue.nl (Matthijs den Otter)
Organization: MCGV Stack, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands.
Subject: Landau and fluxquantisation
Approved: eastman@glue.umd.edu

Questions for the quantummechanics.

A free charged particle without (or with) spin in a 'large' homogeneous
magnetic field will perform cyclotron orbits in a classical picture. In the
quantum-mechanical picture, it will describe harmonic oscillatory wave
functions. Landau (1930, Zeitschrift fuer Physik, or Landau and Lifshitz,
the book series) was the first to note this. He found the well known formula

E=(n+1/2)h-bar w_c with w_c=eB/m.

Around 1960 the magnetic flux quantum was found, called fluxoid. It was
discovered that in the famous article by Aharonow and Bohm only interference
maxima were found if the electron wave function enclosed a certain number of
fluxoids. The calculation made by A. and B. involves path integrals.

How do I calculate the number of flux quanta enclosed by a charged particle,
with or without spin, in a large homogeneous magnetic field in the
z-direction? Is there an operator with eigenvalues and if so, what does it
look like?

If you know the answers, please email me at:
matthijs@blade.stack.urc.tue.nl

Greetings, Matthew.