Complex time solutions with nontrivial topology and multiparticle scattering in Yang-Mills theory

Abstract

A classical solution in Yang-Mills thoery is given a new semiclassical interpretation in terms of particle scattering. It solves the complex time boundary value problem which arises in the semiclassical approximation to a multiparticle transition probability in the one-instanton sector at fixed energy. The imaginary part of the action of the solution on the complex time contour and its topological charge obey the same relation as the self-dual Euclidean configurations. Hence the solution is relevant for the problem of tunneling with fermion number violation in the electroweak theory. It describes transitions from an initial state with a smaller number of particles to a final state with a larger umber of particles. The implications of these results for multiparticle production in the electroweak theory are also discussed.