Stable Q-balls from extra dimensions

Given a bulk scalar field with sufficient self-interactions in a higher dimensional spacetime, it is shown that the continuous symmetries in four dimensions, induced by the topological structure of the compact manifold, naturally lead to formation of stable nontopological solitons of Q-ball type. The mass per unit charge inside the soliton is bounded by the size of the extra dimensions, and it is thus stable with respect to decaying into excited levels of all bulk fields, irrespective of their bulk masses. A familiar example is the Standard Model in the bulk, where the Kaluza-Klein levels of the Higgs boson form a stable Q-ball. These stable solitons are natural candidates for the dark matter in the Universe. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.