Topological Solitons

Erscheinungsjahr 2010
ISBN: 978-0-521-83836-8
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 506 Seiten, Format (B × H): 183 mm x 260 mm, Gewicht: 1137 g

Reihe: Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics

Topological solitons occur in many nonlinear classical field theories. They are stable, particle-like objects, with finite mass and a smooth structure. Examples are monopoles and Skyrmions, Ginzburg-Landau vortices and sigma-model lumps, and Yang-Mills instantons. This book is a comprehensive survey of static topological solitons and their dynamical interactions. Particular emphasis is placed on the solitons which satisfy first-order Bogomolny equations. For these, the soliton dynamics can be investigated by finding the geodesics on the moduli space of static multi-soliton solutions. Remarkable scattering processes can be understood this way. The book starts with an introduction to classical field theory, and a survey of several mathematical techniques useful for understanding many types of topological soliton. Subsequent chapters explore key examples of solitons in one, two, three and four dimensions. The final chapter discusses the unstable sphaleron solutions which exist in several field theories.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Manton, Nicholas

Sutcliffe, Paul

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Physik Angewandte Physik Statistische Physik, Dynamische Systeme
• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Topologie Mengentheoretische Topologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Lagrangians and fields; 3. Topology in field theory; 4. Solitons - general theory; 5. Kinks; 6. Lumps and rational maps; 7. Vortices; 8. Monopoles; 9. Skyrmions; 10. Instantons; 11. Saddle points - sphalerons; References; Index.

Über Autor(innen)

Sutcliffe, Paul
Paul Sutcliffe received his PhD from the University of Durham in 1992. Following postdoctoral appointments at Heriot-Watt, Orsay and Cambridge, he moved to the University of Kent, where he is now Reader in Mathematical Physics. For the past five years, he was an EPSRC Advanced Fellow. He has researched widely on topological solitons, especially multi-soliton solutions and soliton dynamics, and has found surprising relations between different kinds of soliton.

Manton, Nicholas
Nicholas Manton received his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1978. Following postdoctoral positions at the Ecole Normale in Paris, M.I.T. and UC Santa Barbara, he returned to Cambridge and is now Professor of Mathematical Physics in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and currently head of the department's High Energy Physics group. He is a Fellow of St John's College. He introduced and helped develop the method of modelling topological soliton dynamics by geodesic motion on soliton moduli spaces.

Nicholas Manton received his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1978. Following postdoctoral positions at the Ecole Normale in Paris, M.I.T. and UC Santa Barbara, he returned to Cambridge and is now Professor of Mathematical Physics in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and currently head of the department's High Energy Physics group. He is a Fellow of St John's College. He introduced and helped develop the method of modelling topological soliton dynamics by geodesic motion on soliton moduli spaces.
Paul Sutcliffe received his PhD from the University of Durham in 1992. Following postdoctoral appointments at Heriot-Watt, Orsay and Cambridge, he moved to the University of Kent, where he is now Reader in Mathematical Physics. For the past five years, he was an EPSRC Advanced Fellow. He has researched widely on topological solitons, especially multi-soliton solutions and soliton dynamics, and has found surprising relations between different kinds of soliton.