Stable Cosmic Vortons

TL;DR

This paper presents the first explicit solutions of gauged vortons in a U(1)×U(1) model, demonstrating that some thick vortons can be stable, which has implications for cosmology, QCD, and condensed matter physics.

Contribution

It provides the first field theory solutions for gauged vortons and shows evidence of their stability through non-linear dynamical evolution.

Findings

Most vortons are unstable and break apart when perturbed.

Thick vortons with small radius remain stable over time.

Potential implications for dark matter, QCD, and condensed matter physics.

Abstract

We present for the first time solutions in the gauged $U(1)\times U(1)$ model of Witten describing vortons -- spinning flux loops stabilized against contraction by the centrifugal force. Vortons were heuristically described many years ago, however, the corresponding field theory solutions were not obtained and so the stability issue remained open. We construct explicitly a family of stationary vortons characterized by their charge and angular momentum. Most of them are unstable and break in pieces when perturbed. However, thick vortons with small radius preserve their form in the 3+1 non-linear dynamical evolution. This gives the first ever evidence of stable vortons and impacts several branches of physics where they could potentially exist. These range from cosmology, since vortons could perhaps contribute to dark matter, to QCD and condensed matter physics.