Kinks And Domain Walls: An Introduction To Classical And Quantum Solitons ( Cambridge University Press )

This page intentionally left blank KINKS AND DOMAIN WALLS An Introduction to Classical and Quantum Solitons Kinks and domain walls are the simplest kind of solitons and hence they are invaluable for testing various ideas and for learning about non-perturbative aspects of field theories. They are the subject of research in essentially every branch of physics, ranging from condensed matter to cosmology. This book is a pedagogical introduction to kinks and domain walls and their principal classical and quantum properties. The book starts out by discussing classical solitons, building up from examples in elementary systems to more complicated settings. The quantum properties are introduced, together with discussion of the very fundamental role that solitons may play in particle physics. The formation of solitons in phase transitions, their dynamics, and their cosmological consequences are further discussed. The book closes with an explicit description of a few laboratory systems containing solitons. Kinks and Domain Walls includes several state-of-the-art results (some previously unpublished), providing a handy reference. Each chapter closes with a list of open questions and research problems. This book will be of great interest to both graduate students and academic researchers in theoretical physics, particle physics and condensed matter physics. Tanmay Vachaspati is a professor in the Physics Department at Case Western Reserve University. He was the Rosenbaum Fellow for the Topological Defects Programme at the Isaac Newton Institute, and is a Fellow of the American Physical Society. Professor Vachaspati co-edited The Formation and Evolution of Cosmic Strings with Professors Gary Gibbons and Stephen Hawking. KINKS AND DOMAIN WALLS An Introduction to Classical and Quantum Solitons TANMAY VACHASPATI Case Western Reserve University cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge cb2 2ru, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521836050 © T. Vachaspati 2006 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format 2006 isbn-13 isbn-10 978-0-511-24515-2 eBook (EBL) 0-511-24515-7 eBook (EBL) isbn-13 isbn-10 978-0-521-83605-0 hardback 0-521-83605-0 hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred t