Monopole/Anti-Monopole Nucleation in SO(3)/SO(2)
The shaded regions are those with large potential energies,
representing monopoles and anti-monopoles. The lower total-energy
contour describes a prolate spheroid, while the higher contour
describes two roughly hemispherical regions associated with the inner
monopole/anti-monopole pair. The texture with initially spherically
symmetric energy density
initially collapses in a nearly symmetric fashion. It then begins to
deviate from spherical symmetry (while remaining axially symmetric),
and a monopole-antimonopole pair nucleates at the center. These
travel away from each other toward the edges of the simulation region,
while eventually another pair nucleates at the center. The antimonopole
of the second pair follows the monopole of the first, and vice-versa.
Presumably these will annihilate, although the first
pair leaves the box before this can occur.
String Loop Nucleation in SO(3)/0
The shaded region is one of large potential energy,
representing a loop of cosmic string. The total-energy contours
describe roughly spheroidal regions. The loop seen here grows and
intersects the edges of the simulation region, so we cannot follow
its entire evolution.
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