A Remark on the Aharonov-Bohm Potential and a Discussion on the Electric Charge Quantization

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to stress on a mathematical requirement of the Stokes' theorem that, naturally, yields a reassessment of the electric charge quantization condition, which is, here, explicitly carried out in the context of the Aharonov-Bohm set-up. We argue that, by virtue of an ambiguity in the definition of the circulation of the vector potential, a modified quantization condition comes out for the electric charge that opens the way for understanding fundamental fractional charges. One does not, any longer, need to rely on the existence of a magnetic monopole to justify electric charge quantization.