Resolution of SU(2) monopole singularities by oxidation

Abstract

We show how colored SU(2) BPS monopoles (that is: SU(2) monopoles satisfying the Bogomol'nyi equation whose Higgs field and magnetic charge vanish at infinity and which are singular at the origin) can be obtained from the BPST instanton by a singular dimensional reduction, explaining the origin of the singularity and implying that the singularity can be cured by the oxidation of the solution. We study the oxidation of other monopole solutions in this scheme.