Construction of topological defect networks with complex scalar fields

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to construct and analyze networks of topological defects in models with complex scalar fields, highlighting differences between symmetric and non-symmetric potential cases.

Contribution

It introduces a deformation procedure to build defect networks in complex scalar field models, exploring symmetry effects and bifurcation phenomena.

Findings

Symmetric potentials lead to regular defect networks.

Non-symmetric potentials produce irregular, spread-out networks.

Bifurcation phenomena are suppressed by the deformation method.

Abstract

This work deals with the construction of networks of topological defects in models described by a single complex scalar field. We take advantage of the deformation procedure recently used to describe kinklike defects in order to build networks of topological defects, which appear from complex field models with potentials that engender a finite number of isolated minima, both in the case where the minima present discrete symmetry, and in the non symmetric case. We show that the presence of symmetry guide us to the construction of regular networks, while the non symmetric case gives rise to irregular networks which spread throughout the complex field space. We also discuss bifurcation, a phenomenon that appear in the non symmetric case, but is washed out by the deformation procedure used in the present work.