# Four-dimensional gravity on a thick domain wall

## I Introduction

Recently it was discovered that four-dimensional gravity can be realized on a domain wall in five-dimensional space-time  (For a review on domain walls see ). The concrete example studied in Ref.  involves two regions of $`AdS_5`$ glued together over a four-dimensional Minkowski slice. The fluctuations of the gravitational field include a single normalizable zero mode, which gives rise to four-dimensional gravity on the domain wall. Since the ambient space is non-compact, there is a continuous spectrum of massive modes. Normally this results in five-dimensional gravity being restored, but if the ambient space is a suitable slice of $`AdS`$, this does not happen. The couplings of the extra modes to matter on the domain wall are sufficiently suppressed that integrating over all of them still gives a subleading contribution to the gravitational interaction between test masses on the domain wall. The original proposal was formulated in pure five-dimensional gravity. Various extensions to domain walls in gravity coupled to scalars , time dependent cosmological scenarios , higher dimensional embeddings , and models with mass gaps for the continuum modes  have appeared in the literature. Several supergravity solutions related to the model of  are known , but the original model does not have a supersymmetric extension .

In this note we consider a solution of five-dimensional gravity coupled to scalars, which also does not have a supersymmetric extension<sup>*</sup><sup>*</sup>*We thank A. Linde and R. Kallosh for pointing this out to us.. Our solution can be interpreted as a thick domain wall interpolating between two asymptotic $`AdS_5`$ spaces, which makes it a non-singular version of the setup in . It is interesting to investigate how four-dimensional gravity arises on non-singular domain walls, since they are a more realistic implementation of the scenario in Ref. .

Thick domain walls are easy to construct, but all explicit solutions we are aware of are too complicated for analytical computations. Our solution is simple enough that the equivalent quantum mechanics problem can be given in closed form. The potential in the equivalent quantum mechanics problem has the form of a shallow well separated from the asymptotic region by a thick potential barrier. A natural question is whether there are resonances (or quasi-stationary states) in such potentials. From the point of view of a four-dimensional observer, these states would give a quasi-discrete spectrum of low mass KK states with unsuppressed couplings to matter on the domain wall. This should be contrasted with the couplings of non-resonant modes which are small since they have to tunnel through the potential barrier. If such resonant states exist, they change the physics a four-dimensional observer sees. In order to address questions of this type it is convenient to have a closed form expression for the quantum mechanics problem. In this note we discuss one such example and find that there are no resonances of the type described above. Thus we conclude that the mechanism for localizing gravity on a thick domain wall is exactly the same as in the thin wall case of .

In section II we give a quick review of gravity coupled to scalars and outline a method for finding solutions following . We use it to find a particularly simple thick domain wall solution. In section III we study fluctuations of the gravitational field around our solution and describe how bulk modes interact with matter on the domain wall.

## II Gravity coupled to scalars

In order to ensure four-dimensional Poincare invariance we assume that the metric takes the form

$$ds^2=e^{2A(r)}\left(dx_0^2\underset{i=1}{\overset{3}{}}dx_i^2\right)dr^2.$$
(1)   
The action for five-dimensional gravity coupled to a single real scalar reads

$$S=d^4x𝑑r\sqrt{g}\left(\frac{1}{4}R+\frac{1}{2}(\varphi )^2V(\varphi )\right),$$
(2)   
and the equations of motion following from this action are

$`\varphi ^{\prime \prime }+4A^{}\varphi ^{}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{V(\varphi )}{\varphi }}`$ (3)   
$`A^{\prime \prime }`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{2}{3}}\varphi ^2`$ (4)   
$`A^2`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{3}}V(\varphi )+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{6}}\varphi ^2.`$ (5)   
The prime denotes differentiation with respect to $`r`$, and we have assumed that both $`\varphi `$ and $`A`$ are functions of $`r`$ only. If the potential for the scalar is given by

$$V(\varphi )=\frac{1}{8}\left(\frac{W(\varphi )}{\varphi }\right)^2\frac{1}{3}W(\varphi )^2,$$
(6)   
setting

$$\varphi ^{}=\frac{1}{2}\frac{W(\varphi )}{\varphi },A^{}=\frac{1}{3}W(\varphi )$$
(7)   
yields a solution. This very useful first order formalism for obtaining solutions to the equations of motion appeared first in the study of supergravity domain walls  and was generalized in  to include non-supersymmetric domain walls in various dimensions.

To study domain wall solutions we have to choose a scalar potential with several minima. A domain wall solution is characterized by a function $`\varphi (r)`$ that asymptotes to different minima of the potential as $`r\pm \mathrm{}`$. In general $`\varphi (r)`$ is smooth and contains a length scale that corresponds to the thickness of the wall.

It is straightforward to find such solution to the equations of motion. Some examples are discussed in  and many others can be constructed along the same lines. However most of these solutions yield equations that are too complicated for an analytical treatment in closed form. In this note we present a very specific example of a thick $`AdS`$ domain wall, where most of the calculations can be done analytically.

We choose a superpotential

$$W(\varphi )=3bc\mathrm{sin}\left(\sqrt{\frac{2}{3b}}\varphi \right),$$
(8)   
which gives rise to

$`V(\varphi )`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{3bc^2}{8}}\left((14b)(1+4b)\mathrm{cos}\left(\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{8}{3b}}}\varphi \right)\right),`$ (9)   
$`A(r)`$ $`=`$ $`b\mathrm{ln}\left(2\mathrm{cosh}(cr)\right),`$ (10)   
$`\varphi (r)`$ $`=`$ $`\sqrt{6b}\mathrm{arctan}\left(\mathrm{tanh}\left({\displaystyle \frac{cr}{2}}\right)\right),`$ (11)   
where we have set an integration constant that corresponds to a shift in $`A(r)`$ to zero. For $`r\pm \mathrm{}`$ we have $`A(r)bc|r|`$, so the metric, Eq. (1), reduces to $`AdS`$ far from the domain wall at $`r=0`$. Generic $`AdS`$ domain wall solutions have two free parameters, one for the asymptotic $`AdS`$ curvature and another for the width of the wall. In the solution above the $`AdS`$ curvature is given by $`bc`$ and the thickness of the wall is parametrized by $`c`$.

## III Metric fluctuations

In gravity coupled to scalars one cannot discuss fluctuations of the metric around the background given in the previous section without including fluctuations of the scalar as well. The general treatment of these fluctuations is rather complicated, since one has to solve a complicated system of coupled differential equations. However, there is a sector of the metric fluctuations that decouples from the scalars , and these fluctuations can be treated analytically.

For the metric fluctuations we adopt a gauge such that the perturbed metric takes the form

$$ds^2=e^{2A(r)}(\eta _{ij}+h_{ij})dx^idx^jdr^2,$$
(12)   
where $`i=0,\mathrm{},3`$ and $`\eta _{ij}=\mathrm{diag}(1,1,1,1)`$. It is straightforward but tedious to obtain the coupled equations of motion for the scalar fluctuation, $`\stackrel{~}{\varphi }`$, and $`h_{ij}`$ . In order to prove stability of the solution given in the previous section, we would have to show that there are no negative mass solutions to these equations. Unfortunately, this is a rather daunting task, and we will not attempt it here.

The transverse and traceless part of the metric fluctuation, $`\overline{h}_{ij}`$, decouples from the scalar and satisfies a much simpler equation of motion 

$$\left(_r^2+4A^{}_re^{2A}\mathrm{}\right)\overline{h}_{ij}=0,$$
(13)   
where $`\mathrm{}`$ is the four-dimensional wave operator. In  it proved useful to recast this equation in a form similar to Schrödinger’s equation. To that end we change coordinates to $`z=e^{A(r)}𝑑r`$. The metric takes the form

$$ds^2=e^{2A(z)}\left(dx_0^2\underset{i}{}dx_i^2dz^2\right).$$
(14)   
and the wave equation for the transverse traceless parts of $`h_{ij}`$ reads

$$\left(_z^2+3A^{}(z)_z+\mathrm{}\right)\overline{h}_{ij}=0.$$
(15)   
Making the ansatz $`\overline{h}_{ij}=e^{ikx}e^{3A/2}\psi _{ij}(z)`$, this equation simplifies further to

$$\left(_z^2+V_{QM}(z)k^2\right)\psi (z)=0,$$
(16)   
where we have dropped the indices on $`\psi (z)`$ and introduced the potential $`V_{QM}=\frac{9}{4}A^{}(z)^2+\frac{3}{2}A^{\prime \prime }(z)`$.

Using Eq. (10) and the definition of the new variable $`z`$ we find $`z=𝑑r2^b\mathrm{cosh}^b(cr)`$. For integer $`b`$ these integrals are easy to do, but if $`b`$ is even the inversion is never possible in closed form and for odd $`b`$ inverting the expression for $`z`$ requires solving a degree $`b`$ polynomial equation. In the following we will set $`b=1`$. The $`b=3`$ case is also tractable, but the resulting equations are much more complicated and the qualitative behavior of the solution is the same as in the $`b=1`$ case.

Note that setting $`b=1`$ leaves only one free parameter, $`c`$, which controls the $`AdS`$ curvature and the thickness of the domain wall. With $`b=1`$, we cannot take the thin wall limit without sending the $`AdS`$ curvature to infinity at the same time. Since we are interested in studying thick walls, this is not a serious handicap.

For the $`b=1`$ solution we have $`A(z)=\mathrm{ln}(\sqrt{4+c^2z^2})`$, which gives

$$V_{QM}=\frac{3c^2}{4}\frac{(8+5c^2z^2)}{(4+c^2z^2)^2}.$$
(17)   
The spectrum of eigenvalues, $`k^2`$, give the spectrum of graviton masses a four dimensional observer at (or near) $`z=0`$ sees. In order to have a four dimensional graviton as in  the lowest eigenfunction of Eq. (16) should have eigenvalue $`k^2=0`$. We find one normalizable eigenfunction given by $`\psi _0=N/(4+c^2z^2)^{\frac{3}{4}}`$, where $`N`$ is a normalization constant. $`\psi _0`$ is the lowest energy eigenfunction, because it has no zeros. Thus there is no instability from transverse traceless modes with $`k^2<0`$.

Since the potential vanishes for large $`z`$, this is the only bound state. The wave functions for $`k^2>0`$ become plane waves at infinity. We were not able to find exact solutions of Eq. (16) for $`k^2>0`$, but qualitatively the process of localizing gravity on the domain wall is quite clear.

As in  any $`k^2>0`$ is allowed, so the masses of the extra modes are continuous from zero. Normally this indicates that gravity is actually five-dimensional, but for the thin $`AdS`$ domain wall the couplings of these modes to matter on the domain wall are suppressed enough that they do not spoil four-dimensional gravity. We now discuss this somewhat mysterious behavior in our non-singular setup. Let $`V_{max}c^2`$ be the maximum of the potential shown in Fig. 1. For modes with energies (masses) $`k^2V_{max}`$, the potential is a small perturbation. These modes couple to matter on the domain wall with regular strength, but since they are heavy, they yield subleading corrections to four-dimensional gravity mediated by the zero mode.

Modes with $`k^2V_{max}`$ could potentially exhibit a resonance structure. Such resonant modes would have a disproportionately large amplitude in the interior of the domain wall, while the amplitude of non-resonant modes should be much lager outside than in the interior. Since we do not have a solution for the continuum modes in closed form, we are forced to investigate this question numerically. This analysis is simplified greatly by having a closed expression for the potential Eq. (17).

Numerically integrating Eq. (16) for various values of $`k^2`$ we find no evidence for a resonance structure in the spectrum of the continuum modes. Fig. 2 shows a mode with moderate $`k^2`$ and one with very low $`k^2`$. Modes with intermediate values of $`k^2`$ smoothly interpolate between the two solutions shown. We have adopted the unphysical normalization, $`\psi (0)=1`$. To convert to the physical normalization, we use plane wave normalization for the wave functions at large $`z`$. With this normalization the wave function for small $`k^2`$ is strongly suppressed at the origin. Since the coupling of a mode with mass $`k^2`$ to matter located at or near $`z=0`$ is given by the amplitude of the properly normalized wave function there, the modes with small $`k^2`$ are essentially decoupled from the physics on the domain wall. Furthermore, the wave function at the origin decreases monotonically as we lower $`k^2`$. Just as in the thin wall case of , there is no evidence for a resonance structure in the continuum modes. This is true both for the $`b=1`$ and the $`b=3`$ solution, but it is not clear if this is a generic feature of thick $`AdS`$ domain walls, or a special property of our simple examples. In any event we conclude that there are thick domain walls on which the four-dimensional effective theory has a spectrum that is qualitatively very similar to the thin wall case.

It is interesting to see how our solution reduces to the thin wall solution of . We have only one parameter that controls both the thickness of the wall and the $`AdS`$ curvature. The limit $`c\mathrm{}`$ sends the width of the wall to zero and the $`AdS`$ curvature to infinity. Clearly classical gravity is not adequate to describe the physics in this limit, but as a consistency check we can still compare Eq. (16) to the corresponding equation in . We expect these equations to agree in the high curvature limit. We find for $`z0`$

$$V_{QM}(z)=\frac{15}{4z^2}.$$
(18)   
This agrees with the large curvature limit of the potential given in  for $`z0`$, and solving Eq. (16) with this potential yields the Bessel functions found in . We cannot check that the singular piece in the potential of  comes out correctly, because that requires first taking the width of the wall to zero and then sending the curvature of $`AdS`$ to infinity. Our solution only allows us to take a special correlated limit, so we do not expect the singular part to agree. Finally, in our setup modes with masses up to $`m_{max}c`$ are suppressed on the domain wall. $`m_{max}`$ becomes infinitely large in the limit $`c\mathrm{}`$, so we recover uncorrected four-dimensional gravity. Correspondingly, we find that the corrections from bulk modes in the thin wall solution of  vanish as the $`AdS`$ curvature goes to infinity.

###### Acknowledgements.

It is a pleasure to thank Josh Erlich, Yael Shadmi, Yuri Shirman, and especially Lisa Randall for helpful comments and for encouraging me to write this paper. I would also like to thank the ITP at UCSB for hospitality while this work was completed. This work was supported in part by DOE grants #DF-FC02-94ER40818 and #DE-FC-02-91ER40671 and NSF grant PHY94-07194.