COMPLEX TIME SOLUTIONS WITH NONTRIVIAL TOPOLOGY AND MULTIPARTICLE SCATTERING IN YANG-MILLS THEORY

A classical solution in Yang-Mills theory is given a new semiclassical interpretation in terms of particle scattering. It solves the complex time boundary value problem which arises in the semiclassical approxi mation to a multiparticle transition probability in the one-instanton sector at fixed energy. The imaginary part of the action of the soluti on on the complex time contour and its topological charge obey the sam e relation as the self-dual Euclidean configurations. Hence the soluti on is relevant for the problem of tunneling with fermion number violat ion in the electroweak theory. It describes transitions from an initia l state with a smaller number of particles to a final state with a lar ger number of particles. The implications of these results for multipa rticle production in the electroweak theory are also discussed.