Embedded vortices - art. no. 125027

We present a discussion of embedded vortices in general Yang-Mills theories . The origin of a family structure of solutions is shown to be group theore tic in nature and a procedure for its determination is developed. Vortex st ability can be quantified into three types: Abelian topological stability, non-Abelian topological stability, and dynamical stability; we relate these to the family structure of vortices, in particular discussing how Abelian topological and dynamical stability are related. The formalism also general ly encompasses embedded domain walls and embedded monopoles also. [S0556-28 21(98)01018-2].