TOPOLOGICAL AND NONTOPOLOGICAL SELF-DUAL CHERN-SIMONS SOLITONS IN A GAUGED O(3) SIGMA-MODEL

We present topological and nontopological self-dual soliton solutions in an O(2) gauged O(3) sigma model on R(2) with Chern-Simons rather th an Maxwell dynamics. These solutions are not vortices in the usual sen se in that the magnetic flux is irrelevant to the stability of the top ological solitons, which are stabilized by the degree N, but it plays a crucial role in the stabilization of the nontopological solitons. It turns out that topological and nontopological solitons of arbitrary v orticity N exist. We have studied both types of vortices with N = 1 an d N = 2, and the nontopological soliton with N = 0 numerically. We pre sent analytic proofs for the existence of these topological and nontop ological solitons. The qualitative features of the gauged 0(3) soliton s are contrasted with those of the gauged CP1 solitons.