Topological phase transitions in the gauged BPS baby Skyrme model

Abstract

Abstract: We demonstrate that the gauged BPS baby Skyrme model with a double vacuum potential allows for phase transitions from a non-solitonic to a solitonic phase, where the latter corresponds to a ferromagnetic liquid. Such a transition can be generated by increasing the external pressure P or by turning on an external magnetic field H. As a consequence, the topological phase where gauged BPS baby skyrmions exist, is a higher density phase. For smaller densities, obtained for smaller values of P and H, a phase without solitons is reached. We find the critical line in the P, H parameter space. Furthermore, in the soliton phase, we find the equation of state for the baby skyrmion matter V = V(P,H) at zero temperature, where V is the “volume”, i.e., area of the solitons.