Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 308 3 Solution 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.