Metastable massive gravitons from an infinite extra dimension

Abstract

Motivated by stringy considerations, Randall & Sundrum have proposed a model where all the fields and particles of physics, save gravity, are confined on a 4-dimensional brane embedded in 5-dimensional anti-deSitter space. Their scenario features a stable bound state of bulk gravity waves and the brane that reproduces standard general relativity. We demonstrate that in addition to this zero-mode, there is also a discrete set of metastable bound states that behave like massive 4-dimensional gravitons which decay by tunneling into the bulk. These are resonances of the bulk-brane system akin to black hole quasinormal modes--as such, they give rise to the dominant corrections to 4-dimensional gravity. The phenomenology of braneworld perturbations is greatly simplified when these resonant modes are taken into account, which is illustrated by considering gravitational radiation emitted from nearby sources and early universe physics.

7 pages, 1 figure. This essay received an honourable mention in the 2005 Gravity Research Foundation essay competition