Quantum aspects of topological solitons

Thesis/Dissertation · Mon Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1984

OSTI ID:5483311

Rodgers, V G.J.

The non-linear sigma model supports classically stable solitons which enjoy the same spin and flavor quantum numbers of the baryons composed of quarks. It is natural then to suggest that the non-linear sigma model, a model composed only of mesons, admits a spectrum of baryons through its solitonic structure. The non-linear sigma model is a good candidate effective Lagrangian for quantum chromodynamics and is the focal point of the thesis. The static soliton is quantized using collective coordinate quantization. It is found that Wess-Zumino action places an important role in defining the physical states. It also determines whether the soliton is quantized as a fermion or a boson in some case. He also examines those solitonic sectors that do not admit the Wess-Zumino action and finds a quantization ambiguity. Here the classical solition can have several quantum mechanical partners. The author elaborates on the issue of quantization ambiguities and its relation to the number of flavors in the theory. Also the quantization of the baryon number two solition is discussed in some detail. The stability of the solition is studied under quantum fluctuations which locally restore chiral symmetry. A derivation of the baryon current as a Noether current from the Wess-Zumino anomaly is offered.

• Research Organization: Syracuse Univ., NY (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5483311
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

645400* -- High Energy Physics-- Field Theory
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS
BARYONS
BOSONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
FIELD THEORIES
FUNCTIONS
HADRONS
LAGRANGIAN FUNCTION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
PARTICLE MODELS
QUANTIZATION
QUANTUM CHROMODYNAMICS
QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
QUASI PARTICLES
SIGMA MODEL
SOLITONS