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Abstract:

We reconsider theories with low gravitational (or string) scale M(*) where Newton's constant is generated via new large-volume spatial dimensions, while standard model states are localized to a 3-brane. Utilizing compact hyperbolic manifolds we show that the spectrum of Kaluza-Klein modes is radically altered. This allows the early Universe to evolve normally up to substantial temperatures, and completely negates the astrophysical constraints on M(*). Furthermore, an exponential hierarchy between the usual Planck scale and the true fundamental scale of physics can emerge with only O(1) coefficients. The linear size of the internal space remains small. The proposal has striking testable signatures.

Abstract:

We modify and extend an earlier proposal by Brown and Teitelboim to relax the effective cosmological term by nucleation of branes coupled to a three-index gauge potential. Microscopic considerations from string/M theory suggest two major innovations in the framework. First, the dependence of brane properties on the compactification of extra dimensions may generate a very small quantized unit for jumps in the effective cosmological term. Second, internal degrees of freedom for multiply coincident branes may enhance tunneling rates by exponentially large density of states factors. These new features essentially alter the relaxation dynamics. By requiring stability on the scale of the lifetime of the universe, rather than absolute stability, we derive a non-trivial relation between the supersymmetry breaking scale and the value of the cosmological term. It is plausibly, though not certainly, satisfied in Nature.