Dynamical features of interference phenomena in the presence of entanglement

A strongly interacting, and entangling, heavy nonrecoiling external particle effects a significant change of the environment. Described locally, the corresponding entanglement event is a generalized electric Aharonov-Bohm effect, which differs from the original one in a crucial way. We propose a gedanken interference experiment. The predicted shift of the interference pattern is due to a self-induced or "private" potential difference experienced while the particle is in vacuum. We show that all nontrivial Born-Oppenheimer potentials are "private" potentials. We apply the Born-Oppenheimer approximation to interference states. Using our approach, we calculate the relative phase of the external heavy particle as well as its uncertainty throughout an interference experiment or entanglement event. We thus complement the Born-Oppenheimer approximation for interference states.