Baryons as skyrmion solution

Question

Recently I've read in Weinberg QToF Vol. 2 that because of spontaneously symmetry breaking of quark global group $SU_{L}(3)\times SU_{R}(3)$ down to  $SU_{f}(3)$ topological structures called skyrmions arise. Weinberg writes that in some sense baryons may be interpreted as skyrmion solution in purely meson chiral effective theory.

The question: how half-spin state may be solution of EOM for integer spin states (even if it is extended field configuration)? And in which sense baryons are skyrmion solutions?

Answer 1

This is discussed in detail in a paper by Witten, ''Current algebra, baryons, and quark confinement''.

The fermionic nature of the soliton (defining the skyrmion) is induced by the nontrivial homotopy group.