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Charge Violation and ALICE Behavior in Global and Textured Strings

Spontaneous breaking of global symmetries can produce ``Alice'' strings: line defects which make unbroken symmetries multivalued, induce apparent charge violation via Aharonov-Bohm interactions, and form point defects when twisted into loops. We demonstrate this behavior for both divergent...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Benson, K M
Lenguaje:eng
Publicado: 2001
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.64.085002
http://cds.cern.ch/record/493094
Descripción
Sumario:Spontaneous breaking of global symmetries can produce ``Alice'' strings: line defects which make unbroken symmetries multivalued, induce apparent charge violation via Aharonov-Bohm interactions, and form point defects when twisted into loops. We demonstrate this behavior for both divergent and textured global Alice strings. Both adiabatically scatter charged particles via effective Wilson lines. For textured Alice strings, such Wilson lines occur at all radii, and are multivalued only inside the string. This produces measurable effects, including path-dependent charge violation.