RIS ID
88258
Abstract
The Aharonov-Bohm effect is one of the most intriguing phenomena in both classical and quantum physics, and associates with a number of important and fundamental issues in quantum mechanics. The Aharonov-Bohm effects of charged particles have been experimentally demonstrated and found applications in various fields. Recently, attention has also focused on the Aharonov-Bohm effect for neutral particles, such as photons. Here we propose to utilize the photon-phonon interactions to demonstrate that photonic Aharonov-Bohm effects do exist for photons. By introducing nonreciprocal phases for photons, we observe experimentally a gauge potential for photons in the visible range based on the photon-phonon interactions in acousto-optic crystals, and demonstrate the photonic Aharonov-Bohm effect. The results presented here point to new possibilities to control and manipulate photons by designing an effective gauge potential.
Publication Details
Li, E., Eggleton, B. J., Fang, K. & Fan, S. (2014). Photonic Aharonov-Bohm effect in photon-phonon interactions. Nature Communications, 5 (Article no; 3225), 1-5.