Topological Electric Charge

Abstract

By treating magnetic charge as a gauge symmetry through the introduction of a ``magnetic'' pseudo four-vector potential, it is shown that it is possible, using the 't Hooft-Polyakov construction, to obtain a topological electric charge. The mass of this electrically charged particle is found to be on the order of {1 / 137} M_W as opposed to the much larger mass (on the order of 137 M_W) of the magnetic soliton. Some model building possibilities are discussed.

15 pages LaTeX