Astrophysical Constraints on Large Extra Dimensions

Abstract

In the Kaluza-Klein (KK) scenario with n large extra dimensions where gravity propagates in the 4+n dimensional bulk of spacetime while gauge and matter fields are confined to a four dimensional subspace, the light graviton KK modes can be produced in the Sun, red giants and supernovae. We study the energy-loss rates through photon-photon annihilation, electron-positron annihilation, gravi-Compton-Primakoff scattering, gravi-bremsstrahlung and nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung, and derive lower limits to the string scale M_S. The most stringent lower limit obtained from SN1987A leads to $M_S> 30 - 130$ TeV (2.1-9.2 TeV) for the case of two (three) large extra dimensions.

12 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables; minor corrections, references added