What Becomes of Vortices in Theories with Flat Directions
A. A. Penin, V. A. Rubakov, P. G. Tinyakov, S. V. Troitsky
Abstract
In many theories with flat directions of scalar potential, static vortex solutions do not exist for a generic choice of vacuum. In two Euclidean dimensions, we find their substitutes --- constrained instantons consisting of compact core formed by Abrikosov--Nielsen--Olesen vortex and long-ranged cloud of modulus field. In (3+1) dimensions, an initial compact configuration of string topology evolves in such a way that at every point in space the modulus relaxes, in a universal manner, to one and the same value characteristic to the theory.