A study of Aharonov-Bohm effect: from quantum electrodynamics to one particle quantum mechanics

In this article, we start with the discussions on the Aharonov-Bohm effect then raise a plausible interpretation within the quantum electrodynamics (QED) framework. We provide a quantum treatment of the source of the electromagnetic potential and argue that the underlying mechanism in AB effect can be viewed as interactions between electrons described by QED theory where the interactions are mediated by virtual photons. On further analysis, we argue that the framework of one particle quantum mechanics (OPQM) can be shown, in general, as a mathematically approximated model which can be reformulated from QED theory. In addition, the classical Maxwell equations are derived from QED scattering process while both classical electromagnetic fields and potentials serve as mathematical tools that are constructed to approximate the interactions among elementary particles described by QED physics, i.e., neither classical fields nor potentials represent any real entities of nature. At the conclusion of this article, we make a few remarks on the hypothesis of the existence of magnetic monopoles.