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Magnetic monopoles and vortices in the standard model of electroweak interactions

Ana Achúcarro
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Abstract

These lectures start with an elementary introduction to the subject of magnetic monopoles which should be accesible from any physics background. In the Weinberg-Salam model of electroweak interactions, magnetic monopoles appear at the ends of a type of non-topological vortices called electroweak strings. These will also be discussed, as well as recent simulations of their formation during a phase transition which indicate that, in the (unphysical) range of parameters in which the strings are classically stable, they can form with a density comparable to topological vortices.

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Ana Achúcarro. 2000-08-10. Magnetic monopoles and vortices in the standard model of electroweak interactions. https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-ph/0008098

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