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Leaving the BPS bound: Tunneling of classically saturated solitons

Journal Article · · Physical Review D
We discuss quantum tunneling between classically Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) saturated solitons in two-dimensional theories with N=2 supersymmetry and a compact space dimension. Genuine BPS states form shortened multiplets of dimension two. In the models we consider there are two degenerate shortened multiplets at the classical level, but there is no obstruction to pairing up through quantum tunneling. The tunneling amplitude in the imaginary time is described by instantons. We find that the instanton is nothing but the 1/4 BPS saturated ''wall junction,'' considered previously in the literature in other contexts. Two central charges of the superalgebra allow us to calculate the instanton action without finding the explicit solution (it is checked, though, numerically, that the saturated solution does exist). We present a quantum-mechanical interpretation of the soliton tunneling.
Sponsoring Organization:
(US)
OSTI ID:
40205014
Journal Information:
Physical Review D, Journal Name: Physical Review D Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 63; ISSN 0556-2821
Publisher:
The American Physical Society
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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