Dynamics and Stability of Gauged Q-balls in Axisymmetry

Solitons are stable, localized configurations of fields that behave in many ways like particles. One of the simplest examples of a soliton in classical field theory is a Q-ball, which arises in U(1)-invariant complex scalar field theories with a non-linear attractive potential. When the U(1) symmetry is gauged, the Q-balls acquire an electric charge and are known as "gauged Q-balls". Here we present results from numerical experiments involving U(1) gauged Q-balls in axisymmetry. Our simulations suggest that there exist both stable and unstable branches of gauged Q-ball configurations in the model. We analyze the characteristics of stable gauged Q-balls and investigate the final fate of the unstable configurations. We conclude by discussing the similarities and differences between Q-balls in the gauged and non-gauged theories.