Phys. Rev. D 56, 2073–2079 (1997)Gauss linking number and the electromagnetic uncertainty principleReceived 27 January 1997; published in the issue dated 15 August 1997 It is shown that there is a precise sense in which the Heisenberg uncertainty between fluxes of electric and magnetic fields through finite surfaces is given by (one-half ħ times) the Gauss linking number of the loops that bound these surfaces. To regularize the relevant operators, one is naturally led to assign a framing to each loop. The uncertainty between the fluxes of electric and magnetic fields through a single surface is then given by the self-linking number of the framed loop which bounds the surface. © 1997 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevD.56.2073
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevD.56.2073
PACS:
03.70.+k, 03.65.Bz
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