Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/iii/paper-47/2/i/solution

Take and , the positive-energy sigma-model regime, and keep for the energy calculation. For a static field the energy is
For either sign , complete the square:
Here . Choose to have the sign of . The Bogomolny bound is therefore
Saturation requires and . Finite-energy vacua have , so their endpoint cosine values are and this particular topological charge is . This is the static kink bound in a mass-deformed spherical sigma model. Negative would instead make the derivative energy unbounded below, so positivity is an essential physical convention.

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