The Aharonov-Bohm effect is reconsidered as a scattering event of an electron by a magnetic field confined in an infinite solenoid of finite radius both in the situation where the solenoid is penetrable as well as impenetrable. We next discuss the validity of the Born approximation for the partial-wave scattering amplitudes and explain why for the cylindrically symmetric ( m = 0 ) partial wave the first Born approximation fails in the long-wavelength limit or as the radius of the solenoid shrinks to zero.

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A general definition of ``cosine'' and ``sine'' operators, C and S, for harmonic oscillator phase is proposed and its consequences examined. An important feature of the spectral analysis is the ``chain sequence'' condition which ensures that C and S have unit norm. The (nonunitary) operator U = C + iS is shown to be an annihilation-type operator whose spectral properties bear a remarkable analogy to those of the standard annihilation operator, although its spectrum fills the unit circle rather than the entire complex plane. Statistical properties of the eigenstates of U are discussed briefly.

Eigenstates of the annihilation type operator U = C + iS, where C and S are the ``cosine'' and ``sine'' operators for harmonic oscillator phase, are shown to be closely related to thermal equilibrium states of the oscillator and to provide a new interpretation of the thermal equilibrium density operator. The problem of creating such states is considered and a general theorem is established leading to the construction of interaction Hamiltonians which transform the eigenstates of U among themselves and, in particular, create them from the oscillator ground state. These Hamiltonians lead to representations of the Lie algebras of O(2,1) and O(3). It is suggested that the mathematical technique used, in which generalized U-type operators provide the link between a group and its representations, has its own intrinsic interest for the study of Lie groups.

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