A new class of defects

Abstract

We find the conditions for the existence of a new class of defects. These defects arise from the nontrivial homotopy associated with the spontaneous breaking of subgroups of the full symmetry group of the field theory and may be viewed as topological defects embedded in a larger theory. Examples include monopole configurations in an O(4) model and a new vortex solution in the Weinberg-Salam model.