Q-ball formation through the Affleck-Dine mechanism - art. no. 041301

We present the full nonlinear calculation of the formation of a Q ball thro ugh the Affleck-Dine (AD) mechanism by numerical simulations. It is shown t hat large Q balls are actually produced by the fragmentation of the condens ate of a scalar field whose potential is very flat. We find that the typica l size of a Q ball is determined by the most developed mode of linearized f luctuations, and almost all the initial charges which the AD condensate car ries are absorbed into the formed Q balls, whose sizes and the charges depe nd only on the initial charge densities.