Skyrmions and Faddeev-Hopf Solitons

This paper describes a natural one-parameter family of generalized Skyrme systems, which includes the usual SU(2) Skyrme model and the Skyrme-Faddeev system. Ordinary Skyrmions resemble polyhedral shells, whereas the Hopf-type solutions of the Skyrme-Faddeev model look like closed loops, possibly linked or knotted. By looking at the minimal-energy solutions in various topological classes, and for various values of the parameter, we see how the polyhedral Skyrmions deform into loop-like Hopf Skyrmions.