Monopole skyrmions

A systematic numerical study of the classical solutions to the combined sys tem consisting of the Georgi-Glashow model and the SO(3) gauged Skyrme mode l is presented. The gauging of the Skyrme system permits a lower bound on t he energy, so that the solutions of the composite system can be topological ly stable. The solutions feature some very interesting bifurcation patterns , and it is found that some branches of these solutions are unstable. (C) 2 000 American Institute of Physics. [S0022-2488(00)01102-6].