Vortex Mass in the Three-Dimensional O(2) Scalar Theory.

Abstract

We study the spontaneously broken phase of the XY model in three dimensions, with boundary conditions enforcing the presence of a vortex line. Comparing MonteCarlo and field-theoretic determinations of the magnetization and energy density profiles, we numerically determine the mass of the vortex particle in the underlying O(2)-invariant quantum field theory. The result shows, in particular, that the obstruction posed by Derrick's theorem to the existence of stable topological particles in scalar theories in more than two dimensions does not in general persist beyond the classical level.