  Embedded defects proposed long ago (Z-vortices and Nambu monopoles) have been
successfully searched for in 3D equilibrium lattice studies within the standard
model near the electroweak phase transition and the crossover (which follows it
for realistic Higgs mass). Gauge independent lattice-vortex operators are
proposed. Vortex condensation (percolation) is found to characterize the
high-temperature phase. Small vortex clusters are thermally activated with
non-negligible density on the low-temperature side only at higher Higgs mass,
where preliminary evidence supports their semiclassical nature.
