Size and shape of the interacting Skyrmion

The size and shape of a Skyrmion in the two-interacting-Skyrmion system is studied in the static approximation. The monopole deformation of each chiral field is studied variationally. The static potential and the baryon density distribution are obtained. At small separation, the interacting-Skyrmion size is greater than that of a free Skyrmion due to the presence of a halo in the baryon density. For medium and large separation (R0.7 2 fm), a reduction of the size and a negative quadrupole moment are found for the interacting Skyrmion. This is caused by the characteristic short-range repulsion. A comparison with other approaches is made.