Aharonov–Bohm phase shifts induced by laser pulses

An experimentally accessible scalar Aharonov–Bohm (AB)-effect is proposed using a ponderomotive potential induced by a pulsed laser. This ponderomotive AB (PAB)-effect is unique in that the time-averaged description is classified as type-I, whereas the underlying time-dependent theory is classified as type-II. Not only is the PAB-effect of fundamental interest, it may also be used to characterize ultrashort electron pulses (<100 fs), using low power femtosecond lasers, which is important for ultrafast electron diffraction and microscopy.