Electron shielding of vortons in high-density quark matter

TL;DR

This paper investigates how an electron cloud influences the properties of vortons in high-density quark matter, showing that electrons reduce their energy and size, which impacts their stability.

Contribution

It introduces a numerical solution to the ultrarelativistic Thomas-Fermi equation for vortons, revealing the electron cloud's effect on vorton stability and size in the CFL-$K^0$ phase.

Findings

Electrons remove the electric monopole contribution to vorton energy.

Electron clouds decrease the equilibrium radius of vortons.

Electron presence enhances vorton stability in high-density quark matter.

Abstract

We consider the the effect of the electron cloud about a vorton in the CFL-$K^0$ high-density phase by numerically solving the ultrarelativistic Thomas-Fermi equation about a toroidal charge. Including electrons removes the electric monopole contribution to the energy, and noticeably decreases the equilibrium radius of these stable vortex loops.