Classical and Quantum Interaction of the Dipole

A unified and fully relativistic treatment of the interaction of the electric and magnetic dipole moments of a particle with the electromagnetic field is given. New forces on the particle due to the combined effect of electric and magnetic dipoles are obtained. Four new experiments are proposed, three of which would observe topological phase shifts.Comment: 10 pages, Latex/Revtex. Some minor errors have been correcte

Topology, Locality, and Aharonov-Bohm Effect with Neutrons

Recent neutron interferometry experiments have been interpreted as demonstrating a new topological phenomenon similar in principle to the usual Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect, but with the neutron's magnetic moment replacing the electron's charge. We show that the new phenomenon, called Scalar AB (SAB) effect, follows from an ordinary local interaction, contrary to the usual AB effect, and we argue that the SAB effect is not a topological effect by any useful definition. We find that SAB actually measures an apparently novel spin autocorrelation whose operator equations of motion contain the local torque in the magnetic field. We note that the same remarks apply to the Aharonov-Casher effect.Comment: 9 page

Adventures in Invariant Theory

We provide an introduction to enumerating and constructing invariants of group representations via character methods. The problem is contextualised via two case studies arising from our recent work: entanglement measures, for characterising the structure of state spaces for composite quantum systems; and Markov invariants, a robust alternative to parameter-estimation intensive methods of statistical inference in molecular phylogenetics.Comment: 12 pp, includes supplementary discussion of example

Noncyclic Pancharatnam phase for mixed state SU(2) evolution in neutron polarimetry

We have measured the Pancharatnam relative phase for spin-1/2 states. In a neutron polarimetry experiment the minima and maxima of intensity modulations, giving the Pancharatnam phase, were determined. We have also considered general SU(2) evolution for mixed states. The results are in good agreement with theory.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys.Lett.

Correspondences and Quantum Description of Aharonov-Bohm and Aharonov-Casher Effects

We establish systematic consolidation of the Aharonov-Bohm and Aharonov-Casher effects including their scalar counterparts. Their formal correspondences in acquiring topological phases are revealed on the basis of the gauge symmetry in non-simply connected spaces and the adiabatic condition for the state of magnetic dipoles. In addition, investigation of basic two-body interactions between an electric charge and a magnetic dipole clarifies their appropriate relative motions and discloses physical interrelations between the effects. Based on the two-body interaction, we also construct an exact microscopic description of the Aharonov-Bohm effect, where all the elements are treated on equal footing, i.e., magnetic dipoles are described quantum-mechanically and electromagnetic fields are quantized. This microscopic analysis not only confirms the conventional (semiclassical) results and the topological nature but also allows one to explore the fluctuation effects due to the precession of the magnetic dipoles with the adiabatic condition relaxed

Local/Non-Local Complementarity in Topological Effects

In certain topological effects the accumulation of a quantum phase shift is accompanied by a local observable effect. We show that such effects manifest a complementarity between non-local and local attributes of the topology, which is reminiscent but yet different from the usual wave-particle complementarity. This complementarity is not a consequence of non-commutativity, rather it is due to the non-canonical nature of the observables. We suggest that a local/non-local complementarity is a general feature of topological effects that are ``dual'' to the AB effect.Comment: 4 page

Observation of off-diagonal geometric phase in polarized neutron interferometer experiments

Off-diagonal geometric phases acquired in the evolution of a spin-1/2 system have been investigated by means of a polarized neutron interferometer. Final counts with and without polarization analysis enable us to observe simultaneously the off-diagonal and diagonal geometric phases in two detectors. We have quantitatively measured the off-diagonal geometric phase for noncyclic evolutions, confirming the theoretical predictions. We discuss the significance of our experiment in terms of geometric phases (both diagonal and off-diagonal) and in terms of the quantum erasing phenomenon.Comment: pdf, 22 pages + 8 figures (included in the pdf). In print on Phys. Rev.

Parametric coupling between macroscopic quantum resonators

Time-dependent linear coupling between macroscopic quantum resonator modes generates both a parametric amplification also known as a {}"squeezing operation" and a beam splitter operation, analogous to quantum optical systems. These operations, when applied properly, can robustly generate entanglement and squeezing for the quantum resonator modes. Here, we present such coupling schemes between a nanomechanical resonator and a superconducting electrical resonator using applied microwave voltages as well as between two superconducting lumped-element electrical resonators using a r.f. SQUID-mediated tunable coupler. By calculating the logarithmic negativity of the partially transposed density matrix, we quantitatively study the entanglement generated at finite temperatures. We also show that characterization of the nanomechanical resonator state after the quantum operations can be achieved by detecting the electrical resonator only. Thus, one of the electrical resonator modes can act as a probe to measure the entanglement of the coupled systems and the degree of squeezing for the other resonator mode.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, submitte

Interrelations Between the Neutron's Magnetic Interactions and the Magnetic Aharonov-Bohm Effect

It is proved that the phase shift of a polarized neutron interacting with a spatially uniform time-dependent magnetic field, demonstrates the same physical principles as the magnetic Aharonov-Bohm effect. The crucial role of inert objects is explained, thereby proving the quantum mechanical nature of the effect. It is also proved that the nonsimply connectedness of the field-free region is not a profound property of the system and that it cannot be regarded as a sufficient condition for a nonzero phase shift.Comment: 18 pages, 1 postscript figure, Late

State education as high-yield investment: human capital theory in European policy discourse

Human Capital Theory has been an increasingly important phenomenon in economic thought over the last 50 years. The central role it affords to education has become even more marked in recent years as the concept of the ‘knowledge economy’ has become a global concern. In this paper, the prevalence of Human Capital Theory within European educational policy discourse is explored. The paper examines a selection of policy documents from a number of disparate European national contexts and considers the extent to which the ideas of Human Capital Theory can be seen to be influential. In the second part of the paper, the implications of Human Capital Theory for education are considered, with a particular focus on the possible ramifications at a time of economic austerity. The paper argues that Human Capital Theory risks offering a diminished view of the person, a diminished view of education, but that with its sole focus on economic goals leaves room for educationists and others to argue for the educational, social, and moral values it ignores, and for the conception of the good life and good society it fails to mention