Loosening up the Skyrme model

TL;DR

This paper introduces scalar potentials into the Skyrme model to significantly reduce the classical binding energies of Skyrmions while maintaining symmetries, resulting in more realistic nuclear models.

Contribution

The authors propose a modified Skyrme model with added scalar potentials that lower binding energies to about 3% without losing symmetries, and analyze the quantum effects that increase the total binding energy to around 6%.

Findings

Classical binding energies reduced to ~3%.

Smaller Skyrmion size leads to increased quantum contributions.

Total binding energies after quantum correction are about 6%.

Abstract

We consider the Skyrme model with the addition of extra scalar potentials that decrease the classical binding energies of the Skyrmions to about the 3% level -- without altering the pion mass -- if we insist on keeping platonic symmetries that are usually possessed by Skyrmions. A side effect of the potentials under consideration is the smaller size of the 1-Skyrmion resulting in a smaller moment of inertia and in turn a larger spin contribution to the energy upon semi-classical quantization. After taking into account the quantum contributions we find total binding energies at the 6% level.