Dynamical vacuum selection in field theories with flat directions in their potential

TL;DR

This paper investigates how dynamical vacuum selection occurs in field theories with flat directions and topological solitons, revealing conditions under which specific static solutions emerge or are expelled.

Contribution

It demonstrates the occurrence of dynamical vacuum selection in models with flat directions and topological kinks, detailing boundary conditions that determine static solutions.

Findings

Static kink solutions depend on boundary conditions.

Scalar clouds are expelled under certain conditions.

DVS mechanism varies with boundary conditions.

Abstract

In this paper we show that in field theories with topologically stable kinks and flat directions in their potential, a so-called dynamical vacuum selection (DVS) takes place in the non-trivial, soliton sector of the theory. We explore this DVS mechanism using a specific model. For this model we show that there is only a static kink solution when very specific boundary conditions are met, very similar to the case of vortices in two dimensions. In the case of other boundary conditions a scalar cloud is expelled to infinity, leaving a static kink behind. Other circumstances under which DVS may or may not take place are discussed as well.