Rotating sphaleron-antisphaleron systems

The configuration space of the bosonic sector of Yang-Mills-Higgs theory possesses non-trivial topology, giving rise to unstable classical solutions such as the Klinkhamer-Manton sphaleron. Representing a saddlepoint of the energy functional between two topologically inequivalent vacua, its existence permits baryon number changing processes. In Weinberg-Salam theory, the coupling to the abelian gauge field allows elektroweak sphalerons to carry a nonvanishing angular momentum, being proportional to their electric charge. We here present new classical solutions, representing rotating sphaleron-antisphaleron pairs, chains and vortex rings. In these stationary axially symmetric solutions, the Higgs field vanishes on isolated points on the symmetry axis, or on rings centered around the symmetry axis.