Aharonov-Bohm effect for confined matter in lattice gauge theories

Gauge theories arise in physical systems displaying space-time local symmetries. They provide a powerful description of important realms of physics ranging from fundamental interactions to statistical mechanics, condensed matter, and, more recently, quantum computation. As such, a remarkably deep understanding has been achieved in the field. With the advent of quantum technology, lower energy analogs, capable of capturing important features of the original quantum field theories through quantum simulation, have been intensively studied. Here, we propose a specific scheme implementing an quantum simulation of lattice gauge theories constrained to mesoscopic spatial scales. To this end, we study the dynamics of mesons residing in a ring-shaped lattice of mesoscopic size pierced by an effective magnetic field. In particular, we find a type of Aharonov-Bohm effect that goes beyond the particlelike effect, reflecting the features of the confining gauge potential. The coherence properties of the meson are quantified by the persistent current and by specific features of the correlation functions. When the magnetic field is quenched, Aharonov-Bohm oscillations and correlations start a specific matter-wave current dynamics. Published by the American Physical Society 2024