Vortex Zero Modes, Large Flux Limit and Ambjørn-Nielsen-Olesen Magnetic Instabilities

Abstract: In the large flux limit vortices become flux tubes with almost constant magnetic field in the interior region. This occurs in the case of non-Abelian vortices as well, and the study of such configurations allows us to reveal a close relationship between vortex zero modes and the gyromagnetic instabilities of vector bosons in a strong background magnetic field discovered by Nielsen, Olesen and Ambj{\o}rn. The BPS vortices are exactly at the onset of this instability, and the dimension of their moduli space is precisely reproduced in this way. We present a unifying picture in which, through the study of the linear spectrum of scalars, fermions and W bosons in the magnetic field background, the expected number of translational, orientational, fermionic as well as semilocal zero modes is correctly reproduced in all cases.