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Degenerate vortices and worldline instantons in three-dimensional gauge theories

Evgenii Ievlev* and Mikhail Shifman

  • *Contact author: ievle001@umn.edu
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Phys. Rev. D 113, 105024 – Published 27 May, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/tz6f-8b5m

Abstract

In this paper we continue the study of particlelike topological solitons with degenerate masses and their mixing due to worldline instantons. Previously, this phenomenon was studied in (1+1)-dimensional setups. Here we take a step further and consider degenerate vortices in 2+1 dimensions. We find that, while classically such vortices may be degenerate, they generally mix and split at the quantum level. Supersymmetry protects BPS-saturated vortices only when the number of supercharges in the bulk is large enough.

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 105024– Published 27 May, 2026
  • Received 13 February 2026
  • Accepted 6 April 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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