Vibrational quantisation of the B=7 Skyrmion

Abstract

We consider the inclusion of the most important vibrational modes in the quantisation of the dodecahedral $B=7$ Skyrmion. In contrast to a rigid body quantisation, this formalism allows a spin $\frac{3}{2}$ state to lie below the spin $\frac{7}{2}$ state, in agreement with experimental data. There is also a low lying spin $\frac{1}{2}$ state and two spin $\frac{5}{2} $ states. We find that the excited spin $\frac{7}{2}$ state has a smaller root mean square charge radius than the other states. This prediction is an important signature of the Skyrme model, in conflict with more conventional nuclear models.