Creating kinks from particles

We study the creation of solitons from particles, using the $lambda phi^4$ model as a prototype. We consider the scattering of small, identical, wave pulses, that are equivalent to a sequence of particles, and find that kink-antikink pairs are created for a large region in parameter space. We also find that scattering at {it low} velocities is favorable for creating solitons that have large energy compared to the mass of a particle.

Formation of Non-Abelian Monopoles Connected by Strings

We study the formation of monopoles and strings in a model where SU(3) is spontaneously broken to U(2)=[SU(2)times U(1)]/ZZ_2, and then to U(1). The first symmetry breaking generates monopoles with both SU(2) and U(1) charges since the vacuum manifold is CC P^2. To study the formation of these monopoles, we explicitly describe an algorithm to detect topologically non-trivial mappings on CC P^2. The second symmetry breaking creates ZZ_2 strings linking either monopole-monopole pairs or monopole-antimonopole pairs. When the strings pull the monopoles together they may create stable monopoles of charge 2 or else annihilate. We determine the length distribution of strings and the fraction of monopoles that will survive after the second symmetry breaking. Possible implications for topological defects produced from the spontaneous breaking of even larger symmetry groups, as in Grand Unified models, are discussed.