# Comment on “Singularities in axially symmetric solutions of Einstein-Yang Mills and related theories, by Ludger Hannibal, [hep-th/9903063]”

## Abstract

We point out that the statements in \[hep-th/9903063\] concerning the regularity of static axially symmetric solutions in Yang-Mills-dilaton (YMD)  and Einstein-Yang-Mills(-dilaton) (EYMD) theory  are incorrect, and that the non-singular local gauge potential of the YMD solutions  is twice differentiable.

We have constructed numerically static axially symmetric solutions in Yang-Mills-dilaton (YMD)  and Einstein-Yang-Mills-dilaton (EYMD) theory , employing a singular form of the gauge potential. For the solutions of YMD theory we have recently demonstrated explicitly, that the singular gauge potential can be locally gauge transformed into a well defined gauge potential .

After that, Hannibal has claimed in his paper , “We show that the solutions of $`SU(2)`$ Yang-Mills-dilaton and Einstein-Yang-Mills-dilaton theories described in a sequence of papers by Kleihaus and Kunz are not regular in the gauge field part”(\*). Here we comment on this paper  only as far as our work  is concerned.

In  static axially symmetric Ansätze for the $`SU(2)`$ gauge potential  have been considered and regularity conditions for the gauge field functions parameterizing the Ansatz  have been derived . Comparing the properties of the gauge field functions employed in  to these regularity conditions, it was then concluded in , that “the solutions constructed by Kleihaus and Kunz  do not have the regular form”.

While the solutions constructed numerically in  are presented within a singular form of the gauge potential in the sense, that the gauge potential is not well defined on the $`z`$-axis and at the origin , this, however, only means that regularity of the solutions is not guaranteed a priori. It does not mean, that the solutions are not regular.

Since the gauge potential transforms under gauge transformations, a regular gauge potential $`\widehat{A}_\mu `$ can be gauge transformed into a singular gauge potential $`A_\mu `$ by a singular gauge transformation. Both gauge potentials would describe the same physical solution. From the observation that the gauge potential $`A_\mu `$ is in a singular form, one could neither conclude that there is no regular gauge potential $`\widehat{A}_\mu `$ nor, in particular, that the physical solution is not regular. Therefore, the claim (\*) in the abstract of Hannibals paper  is not correct and misleading.

Hannibal  has then considered the gauge transformation , which transforms locally the singular gauge potential of YMD solutions  into a non-singular gauge potential. He recognizes, that the transformed gauge potential is continuous at $`\theta =0`$ (i. e. at $`x=y=0`$), but he claims that “the potentials are still possibly not differentiable at $`\theta =0`$”.

However, it is a trivial task to check that the transformed gauge potential  is differentiable. For instance for winding number $`n=2`$ and $`z>0`$, the non-singular gauge potential is given explicitly in  in Cartesian coordinates,

$`\widehat{A}_x`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{x}{12r^4}}\left[r_r\stackrel{~}{H}_{12}3\stackrel{~}{H}_{12}\right]\rho ^2\tau _\phi ^2{\displaystyle \frac{y}{6r^4}}\stackrel{~}{H}_{43}\rho ^2\tau _\rho ^2+{\displaystyle \frac{y}{2r^2}}\left[f^2+2g1\right]\tau _3,`$ (1)   
$`\widehat{A}_y`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{y}{12r^4}}\left[r_r\stackrel{~}{H}_{12}3\stackrel{~}{H}_{12}\right]\rho ^2\tau _\phi ^2+{\displaystyle \frac{x}{6r^4}}\stackrel{~}{H}_{43}\rho ^2\tau _\rho ^2{\displaystyle \frac{x}{2r^2}}\left[f^2+2g1\right]\tau _3,`$ (2)   
$`\widehat{A}_z`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{4r^3}}\stackrel{~}{H}_{12}\rho ^2\tau _\phi ^2,`$ (3)   
expanded to lowest order in the variable $`\rho =\sqrt{x^2+y^2}`$. Using $`\rho ^2\tau _\phi ^2=2xy\tau _1+(x^2y^2)\tau _2`$ and $`\rho ^2\tau _\rho ^2=(x^2y^2)\tau _1+2xy\tau _2`$, one sees immediately, that the gauge potential (3) is differentiable at $`x=y=0`$. <sup>*</sup><sup>*</sup>* Note, that the functions $`\stackrel{~}{H}_{12},\stackrel{~}{H}_{43},f,g`$  and their derivatives are bounded functions of $`r=\sqrt{x^2+y^2+z^2}`$. The function $`f`$ used here and in  should not be confused with the function $`f`$ in .

In addition it is evident, that the gauge potential is twice differentiable at $`x=y=0`$, provided one can show that no functions like $`\rho x`$, $`\rho y`$ arise from the next to leading order terms. But this is straightforward, since it concerns only the function $`\widehat{F}_4`$, multiplying the matrix $`\tau _3`$, see . Observing from , that the functions $`H_3`$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{(z)}^{(n)}`$ are odd in $`\theta `$ up to order $`\theta ^3`$ (inclusively) while the function $`H_4`$ is even in $`\theta `$ up to order $`\theta ^2`$, it is easy to see, that the function $`\widehat{F}_4`$ is odd in $`\theta `$ up to order $`\theta ^3`$. Thus the next to leading order term vanishes, indeed. At the origin a similar consideration shows that the next to leading order terms only contribute functions which are twice differentiable at the origin. Consequently, the gauge transformed gauge potential is twice differentiable, even in the lowest order of the expansion .

Nevertheless, we have carried out the expansion near the positive $`z`$-axis to the next order and have found that the next to leading order terms vanish for all gauge field functions for the YMD solutions  with winding number $`n=2,3`$ .

To conclude, it has not been shown in  that the static axially symmetric solutions constructed numerically in  are not regular. Furthermore, the non-singular gauge potentials obtained to lowest order in  are continuous, differentiable and twice differentiable at $`x=y=0`$ and at the origin. Consequently, the singular gauge potential of the solutions obtained in  can locally be gauge transformed into regular form.