Spacetime as a membrane in higher dimensions
Abstract
By means of a simple model we investigate the possibility that spacetime is a membrane embedded in higher dimensions. We present cosmological solutions of d-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell theory which compactify to two dimensions. These solutions are analytically continued to obtain dual solutions in which a (d-2)-dimensional Einstein spacetime "membrane" is embedded in d-dimensions. The membrane solutions generalise Melvin's 4-dimensional flux tube solution. The flat membrane is shown to be classically stable. It is shown that there are zero mode solutions of the d-dimensional Dirac equation which are confined to a neighbourhood of the membrane and move within it like massless chiral (d-2)-dimensional fermions. An investigation of the spectrum of scalar perturbations shows that a well-defined mass gap between the zero modes and massive modes can be obtained if there is a positive cosmological term in (d-2) dimensions or a negative cosmological term in d dimensions.
Cite
@article{arxiv.hep-th/0109093,
title = {Spacetime as a membrane in higher dimensions},
author = {G. W. Gibbons and D. L. Wiltshire},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:hep-th/0109093},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
30 pages, 4 figures in 10 files, epsf. This early brane world paper is being placed on the archive to make it more easily accessible, as its results are used in a new brane world construction in an accompanying submission