ASPECTS OF Q-MATTER STABILITY

Abstract

Relativistic bosonic field theories in 3+1 dimensions with exact global continuous symmetries and conserved charges Q may admit stable, finite energy, time dependent configurations (Q-balls) as solutions to their equations of motion. Previous work established their existence for both Abelian and non-Abelian symmetries. In the present work we elaborate on some more issues of stability and uniqueness that arise in the SO(3) and SU(3) renormalizable models. We consider the effect of explicit symmetry breaking in the spectrum of the SU(3) model, by identifying its order parameter with the meson octet and by choosing a mass matrix consistent with the Gell-Mann-Okubo mass relation. We demonstrate the existence of “isospin” and “strange” balls whose stability is due to the presence of residual global symmetries which are identified with the exact symmetries of isospin and strangeness of strong interactions.