Symmetric skyrmions

Feb, 1997
8 pages
Published in:
  • Phys.Rev.Lett. 79 (1997) 363-366
e-Print:
Report number:
  • UKC-IMS-97-07,
  • IMPERIAL-TP-96-97-18

Citations per year

1997200420112018202502468101214
Abstract:
We present candidates for the global minimum energy solitons of charge one to nine in the Skyrme model, generated using sophisticated numerical algorithms. Assuming the Skyrme model accurately represents the low energy limit of QCD, these configurations correspond to the classical nuclear ground states of the light elements. The solitons found are particularly symmetric, for example, the charge seven skyrmion has icosahedral symmetry, and the shapes are shown to fit a remarkable sequence defined by a geometric energy minimization (GEM) rule. We also calculate the energies and sizes to within at least a few percent accuracy. These calculations provide the basis for a future investigation of the low energy vibrational modes of skyrmions and hence the possibility of testing the Skyrme model against experiment.
  • Skyrme model: SU(2)
  • energy: lower limit
  • Skyrmion: charge
  • numerical calculations