Skyrmions, Rational Maps & Scaling Identities

Starting from approximate Skyrmion solutions obtained using the rational map ansatz, improved approximate Skyrmions are constructed using scaling arguments. Although the energy improvement is small, the change of shape clarifies whether the true Skyrmions are more oblate or prolate.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

Universality in a Class of Q-Ball Solutions: An Analytic Approach

The properties of Q-balls in the general case of a sixth order potential have been studied using analytic methods. In particular, for a given potential, the initial field value that leads to the soliton solution has been derived and the corresponding energy and charge have been explicitly evaluated. The proposed scheme is found to work reasonably well for all allowed values of the model parameters.Comment: 9 Pages, 6 Figure

Solutions of the Generic Non-Compact Weyl Equation

In this paper, solutions of the generic non-compact Weyl equation are obtained. In particular, by identifying a suitable similarity transformation and introducing a non-trivial change of variables we are able to implement azimuthal dependence on the solutions of the diagonal non-compact Weyl equation. We also discuss some open questions related to the construction of infinite BPS monopole configurations.Comment: 12 pages, Latex. Few extra comments and a reference adde

Non-trivial Soliton Scattering in Planar Integrable Systems

The behavior of solitons in integrable theories is strongly constrained by the integrability of the theory, that is by the existence of an infinite number of conserved quantities that these theories are known to possess. As a result the soliton scattering of such theories are expected to be trivial (with no change of direction, velocity or shape). In this paper we present an extended review on soliton scattering of two spatial dimensional integrable systems which have been derived as dimensional reductions of the self-dual Yang-Mills-Higgs equations and whose scattering properties are highly non-trivial.Comment: 25 pages + 9 Figures, Review Paper to appear in International Journal of Modern Physics

Radon measurements along active faults in the Langadas Basin, northern Greece

A network of three radon stations has been established in the Langadas Basin, northern Greece for radon monitoring by various techniques in earthquake prediction studies. Specially made devices with plastic tubes including Alpha Tracketch Detectors (ATD) were installed for registering alpha particles from radon and radon decay products exhaled from the ground, every 2 weeks, by using LR-115, type II, non-strippable Kodak films, starting from December 1996. Simultaneous measurements started using Lucas cells alpha spectrometer for instantaneous radon measurements in soil gas, before and after setting ATDs at the radon stations. Continuous monitoring of radon gas exhaling from the ground started from the middle of August 1999 by using silicon diode detectors, which simultaneously register meteorological parameters, such as rainfall, temperature and barometric pressure. The obtained data were studied together with the data of seismic events, such as the magnitude, <i>M_L</i>, of earthquakes that occurred at the Langadas Basin during the period of measurements, as registered by the Laboratory of Geophysics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in order to find out any association between them