Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2021/iii/paper-308/3/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 308 3 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-09-28
In the Rational map approximation for Skyrmions, stereographic coordinate describes the direction , and a degree- rational map defines a unit vector . The Skyrme model field is approximated byIts baryon number is the degree of . Angular integration reduces the energy to a radial variational problem,up to the conventional overall normalization, where the angular functional depends only on . One first minimizes among degree- maps and then minimizes over the profile . This efficiently captures the topology, energy, and polyhedral symmetries of many Skyrmions.
Let . Since ,which is a fivefold spatial rotation accompanied by a target-space rotation. The real coefficients also give , while direct substitution givesTogether these transformations extend the cyclic symmetry to the stated symmetry.
For and , the Wronskian isBesides , put . ThenThus five zeros lie on the circleat arguments , and five lie on the reciprocal circle at arguments . The polynomial has degree eleven, so the twelfth zero lies at . On the Riemann sphere, the zeros therefore form two opposite poles and two staggered pentagonal rings: the twelve vertices of an icosahedron.
The angular baryon-density factor is proportional to and vanishes at these critical directions. The Wronskian zeros therefore point toward twelve holes in the baryon-density surface. They are the face centers of the dodecahedral Skyrmion, equivalently the vertices of its dual icosahedron, and make its icosahedral symmetry visible directly in the rational map.
New to topics? Read the docs here!