Stability of the B = 2 hedgehod in the Skyrme model

In an attempt to extract the collective Hamiltonian of the baryon-number-two sector of the Skyrme model from exact classical field configurations, we study the unstable modes of the B = 2 hedgehog on a three-dimensional spatial lattice. An expansion of the Skyrme Lagrangian around the hedgehog configuration provides the equations of motion for the fluctuation fields which are solved numerically via a relaxation method. We find the negative-energy modes and, by evolving the excited hedgehog in time, a breakup into two separated solitonic configurations. Via the gradient flow method, the fields are also evolved along paths of steepest descent. Different paths are presented and the possibility of determining the metric structure of the collective-coordinate manifold is discussed.