3D van der Waals $\sigma$-model and its Topological Excitations

It is shown that 3D vector van der Waals (conformal) nonlinear $\sigma$-model (NSM) on a sphere $S^2$ has two types of topological excitations reminiscent vortices and instantons of 2D NSM. The first, the hedgehogs, are described by homotopic group $\pi_2(S^2) = \mathbb {Z}$ and have the logarithmic energies. They are an analog of 2D vortices. The energy and interaction of these excitations are found. The second, corresponding to 2D instantons, are described by hpmotopic group $\pi_3(S^2) = \mathbb {Z}$ or the Hopf invariant $H \in \mathbb {Z}$. A possibility of the topological phase transition in this model and its applications are briefly discussed.