Effective-potential classification of kink-antikink collision channels in the ${\varphi }^8$ scalar field theory

Abstract

We study kink-antikink collisions in a $(1+1)$-dimensional ${\varphi }^8$ scalar field theory with multiple degenerate vacua. We derive soliton solutions for different vacuum structures labeled by $n=p_2/p_1$, and focus on the cases $n=2$ and $n=3$. We perform numerical simulations in all topological sectors and for both kink-antikink ($K\bar{K}$) and $\bar{K}K$ orderings. In the $(-1/2,1/2)$ sector, the kink-antikink pair annihilates for all initial velocities. To the best of our knowledge, this full-velocity annihilation regime has not been reported in ${\varphi }^8$ kink collisions. We also find fractal multi-bounce windows in the $(-1,-1/2)$, $(-1,-1/3)$, and $(-1/3,1/3)$ sectors. Our main result indicates an effective-potential classification of these collision outcomes. We show that the shape of the effective potential is closely related to the final channel. It determines whether the pair escapes, forms a bion, annihilates, or changes sector. When the solitons pass through each other, the effective potential can change suddenly. This gives a possible mechanism for annihilation and sector change. Our results establish connections among topological structure, spectrum and effective potentials in higher-order scalar field theories.