Fractionally charged extended objects and superselection rules
| dc.creator | Sahu, Narendra | |
| dc.creator | Yajnik, Urjit A. | |
| dc.date | 2002-08-03 | |
| dc.date | 2004-08-09 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-07T04:13:57Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-07-07T04:13:57Z | |
| dc.description | Topological objects resulting from symmetry breakdown may be either stable or metastable depending on the pattern of symmetry breaking. However, if they trap zero-energy modes of fermions, and in the process acquire non-integer fermionic charge, the metastable configurations also get stabilized. In the case of Dirac fermions the spectrum of the number operator shifts by 1/2. In the case of majorana fermions it becomes useful to assign negative values of fermion number to a finite number of states occupying the zero-energy level, constituting a \textit{majorana pond}. We determine the parities of these states and prove a superselection rule. Thus decay of objects with half-integer fermion number is not possible in isolation or by scattering with ordinary particles. The result has important bearing on cosmology as well as condensed matter physics. | |
| dc.description | This submission is now superceded by a thoroughly revised version with changed title, as hep-th/0405140 and published as Phys.Lett. B596 (2004) 1-7 | |
| dc.identifier | https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0208027 | |
| dc.identifier | http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/0208027 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/51448 | |
| dc.subject | High Energy Physics - Theory | |
| dc.title | Fractionally charged extended objects and superselection rules | |
| dc.type | text |