Stability of weak Skyrmions.

We consider a set of gauge-invariant terms in higher-order effective Lagrangians of the strongly interacting scalar sector of the electroweak theory. The terms are introduced in the framework of the hidden gauge symmetry formalism. The usual gauge term is known to stabilize the Skyrmion but only in the large vector mass limit. We find that adding higher-order gauge terms is insufficient to ensure stability. We then proceed to analyze other gauge-invariant interaction terms. Some of the conclusions also apply to QCD Skyrmions.