Anomalous fermion production in gravitational collapse

May, 1993
12 pages
Published in:
  • Phys.Lett.B 314 (1993) 13-20
e-Print:
Report number:
  • DAMTP-R-93-14

Citations per year

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Abstract: (Elsevier)
The Dirac equation is solved in the Einstein-Yang-Mills background found by Bartnik and McKinnon. We find a normalizable zero-energy fermion mode in the s-wave sector. As shown recently, their solution corresponds to a gravitational sphaleron which mediates transitions between topologically distinct vacua. Since the Bartnik-McKinnon solution is unstable, it will either collapse to form a black hole or radiate away its energy. In either case, as the Chern-Simons number of the configuration changes, there will be an accompanying anomalous change in fermion number.
  • gravitation
  • Einstein equation
  • gauge field theory: Yang-Mills
  • Dirac equation: solution
  • fermion: zero mode
  • fermion: production
  • production: fermion
  • partial wave
  • Higgs model
  • black hole: hair