$SU(2)$ Yang-Mills solitons in $R^2$ gravity

TL;DR

This paper presents new spherically symmetric solutions in $SU(2)$ Yang-Mills theory coupled with pure $R^2$ gravity, revealing stable, particle-like configurations with unique magnetic charges and distinct properties from classical solitons.

Contribution

It introduces a new family of regular, stable solutions in $SU(2)$ Yang-Mills coupled to $R^2$ gravity, highlighting their differences from traditional Bartnik-McKinnon solitons.

Findings

Existence of continuous families of stable solutions

Solutions possess non-integer non-Abelian magnetic charge

Distinct properties from asymptotically flat solitons

Abstract

We construct new family of spherically symmetric regular solutions of $SU(2)$ Yang-Mills theory coupled to pure $R^2$ gravity. The particle-like field configurations possess non-integer non-Abelian magnetic charge. A discussion of the main properties of the solutions and their differences from the usual Bartnik-McKinnon solitons in the asymptotically flat case is presented. It is shown that there is continuous family of linearly stable non-trivial solutions in which the gauge field has no nodes.