Uma introdução aos skyrmions

Abstract

Due to its wide applicability and interdisciplinarity, the study of skyrmions was the subject chosen as the central theme of this course conclusion work, which aims to succinctly present both the theme itself and the basic concepts involved, in addition to show its relevance to advances in science and technology. We started by doing a historical overview, involving the fundamental aspects that culminated in the discovery of skyrmions, covering mainly a good part of the life and studies of the principal physicist mathematician responsible for this accomplishment, Tony Skyrme. Further on, we introduce fundamental mathematical apparatus for the understanding of skyrmions, among which is the Sigma O(N) Non Linear Model, due to similarities between it and the Skyrme Model, since the former is much more widespread and explored by the scientific community. We conclude this introductory work by qualitatively analyzing the desired exact analytical solutions common among the aforementioned models and exploring some of the important applications of skyrmions, which justified our interest in exploring this topic.