Starting from the Abelian Higgs field theory we construct the theory of quantum Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen strings. It is shown that in four space-time dimensions in the limit of infinitely thin strings, the conformal anomaly is absent, and the quantum theory exists. We also study an analogue of the Aharonov-Bohm effect: the corresponding topological interaction is proportional to the linking number of the string world sheet and the particle world trajectory. The creation operators of the strings are explicitly constructed in the path integral and in the Hamiltonian formulation of the theory. We show that the Aharonov-Bohm effect gives rise to several nontrivial commutation relations. © 1996 The American Physical Society.

• Received 11 July 1995

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.53.2087