Spinning electroweak sphalerons

We present numerical evidence for the existence of stationary spinning generalizations for the static sphaleron in the Weinberg-Salam theory. Our results suggest that, for any value of the mixing angle theta(W) and for any Higgs mass, the spinning sphalerons comprise a family labeled by their angular momentum J. For theta(W)not equal 0 they possess an electric charge Q=eJ, where e is the electron charge. Inside they contain a monopole-antimonopole pair and a spinning loop of electric current, and for large J, a Regge-type behavior. It is likely that these sphalerons mediate the topological transitions in sectors with J not equal 0, thus enlarging the number of transition channels. Their action decreases with J, which may considerably affect the total transition rate.