Abstract:
I show that the claim of the observation of matter wave beat phenomena in the classical macrodomain by Varma et al. [Phys. Rev. E 65, 026503 (2002)] is based on a mistaken interpretation of effects arising from multiple focusing of an electron beam in an axial magnetic field. I present the basic physical facts that mimic wavelike phenomena and suggest a classical explanation of modulations reported by Varma et al. Realization that the macroscopic “de Broglie wavelength” used by Varma et al. is the same as the focusing distance of a monoenergetic electron beam in the uniform magnetic field leads to a full classical explanation of all the effects reported by Varma et al. The reported observations are not evidence for any quantumlike phenomenon in the macrodomain, and their results do not indicate any violation of the Lorentz equation of motion.
