Semilocal strings and monopoles

TL;DR

This paper explores the properties of semilocal strings and monopoles within a modified abelian Higgs model, analyzing their solutions, gravitational effects, and monopole-like configurations with horizons.

Contribution

It provides the most general solutions for semilocal strings and monopoles, including multi-vortex and monopole configurations, in the Bogomol'nyi limit, and examines their gravitational fields.

Findings

Stable, finite energy cosmic string solutions exist without non-contractible loops.

Monopole-like solutions with event horizons are identified.

Gravitational fields of these vortices are explicitly derived.

Abstract

A variation on the abelian Higgs model, with global SU(2) x local U(1) symmetry broken to global U(1) was recently shown by Vachaspati and Achucarro to admit stable, finite energy cosmic string solutions even though the manifold of minima of the potential energy does not have non-contractible loops. Here the most general solutions, both in the single and multi-vortex cases, are described in the Bogomol'nyi limit. The gravitational field of the vortices considered as cosmic strings is obtained and monopole-like solutions surrounded by an event horizon are found.