Scattering Cross Section and Stability of Global Monopoles

Abstract: We study the scattering of scalar waves propagating on the global monopole background. Since the scalar wave operator in this topological defect is not essentially self-adjoint, its solutions are not uniquely determined until a boundary condition at the origin is specified. As we show, this boundary condition manifests itself in the differential cross section and can be inferred by measuring the amplitude of the backscattered wave. We further demonstrate that whether or not the spacetime is stable under scalar perturbations also relies on the chosen boundary condition. In particular, we identify a class of such boundary conditions which significantly affects the differential cross section without introducing an instability.