Slow-roll corrections to inflaton fluctuations on a brane

Quantum fluctuations of an inflaton field, slow-rolling during inflation are coupled to metric fluctuations. In conventional four dimensional cosmology one can calculate the effect of scalar metric perturbations as slow-roll corrections to the evolution of a massless free field in de Sitter spacetime. This gives the well-known first-order corrections to the field perturbations after horizon-exit. If inflaton fluctuations on a four dimensional brane embedded in a five dimensional bulk spacetime are studied to first-order in slow-roll then we recover the usual conserved curvature perturbation on super-horizon scales. But on small scales, at high energies, we find that the coupling to the bulk metric perturbations cannot be neglected, leading to a modified amplitude of vacuum oscillations on small scales. This is a large effect which casts doubt on the reliability of the usual calculation of inflaton fluctuations on the brane neglecting their gravitational coupling.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure

Slow-roll corrections to inflaton fluctuations on a brane

Quantum fluctuations of an inflaton field, slow-rolling during inflation are coupled to metric fluctuations. In conventional four dimensional cosmology one can calculate the effect of scalar metric perturbations as slow-roll corrections to the evolution of a massless free field in de Sitter spacetime. This gives the well-known first-order corrections to the field perturbations after horizon-exit. If inflaton fluctuations on a four dimensional brane embedded in a five dimensional bulk spacetime are studied to first-order in slow-roll then we recover the usual conserved curvature perturbation on super-horizon scales. But on small scales, at high energies, we find that the coupling to the bulk metric perturbations cannot be neglected, leading to a modified amplitude of vacuum oscillations on small scales. This is a large effect which casts doubt on the reliability of the usual calculation of inflaton fluctuations on the brane neglecting their gravitational coupling.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure

Hybrid compactifications and brane gravity in six dimensions

We consider a six-dimensional axisymmetric Einstein-Maxwell model of warped braneworlds. The bulk is bounded by two branes, one of which is a conical 3-brane and the other is a 4-brane wrapped around the axis of symmetry. The latter brane is assumed to be our universe. If the tension of the 3-brane is fine-tuned, it folds the internal two-dimensional space in a narrow cone, making sufficiently small the Kaluza-Klein circle of the 4-brane. An arbitrary energy-momentum tensor can be accommodated on this ring-like 4-brane. We study linear perturbations sourced by matter on the brane, and show that weak gravity is apparently described by a four-dimensional scalar-tensor theory. The extra scalar degree of freedom can be interpreted as the fluctuation of the internal space volume (or that of the circumference of the ring), the effect of which turns out to be suppressed at long distances. Consequently, four-dimensional Einstein gravity is reproduced on the brane. We point out that as in the Randall-Sundrum model, the brane bending mode is crucial for recovering the four-dimensional tensor structure in this setup.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures; v2: references added; v3: accepted for publication in Class. Quant. Gra

Low energy effective theory on a regularized brane in 6D gauged chiral supergravity

We derive the low energy effective theory on a brane in six-dimensional chiral supergravity. The conical 3-brane singularities are resolved by introducing cylindrical codimension one 4-branes whose interiors are capped by a regular spacetime. The effective theory is described by the Brans-Dicke (BD) theory with the BD parameter given by $\omega_{\rm BD}=1/2$. The BD field is originated from a modulus which is associated with the scaling symmetry of the system. If the dilaton potentials on the branes preserve the scaling symmetry, the scalar field has an exponential potential in the Einstein frame. We show that the time dependent solutions driven by the modulus in the four-dimensional effective theory can be lifted up to the six-dimensional exact solutions found in the literature. Based on the effective theory, we discuss a possible way to stabilize the modulus to recover standard cosmology and also study the implication for the cosmological constant problem.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur

Brane-World Gravity

The observable universe could be a 1+3-surface (the "brane") embedded in a 1+3+\textit{d}-dimensional spacetime (the "bulk"), with Standard Model particles and fields trapped on the brane while gravity is free to access the bulk. At least one of the \textit{d} extra spatial dimensions could be very large relative to the Planck scale, which lowers the fundamental gravity scale, possibly even down to the electroweak ($\sim$ TeV) level. This revolutionary picture arises in the framework of recent developments in M theory. The 1+10-dimensional M theory encompasses the known 1+9-dimensional superstring theories, and is widely considered to be a promising potential route to quantum gravity. At low energies, gravity is localized at the brane and general relativity is recovered, but at high energies gravity "leaks" into the bulk, behaving in a truly higher-dimensional way. This introduces significant changes to gravitational dynamics and perturbations, with interesting and potentially testable implications for high-energy astrophysics, black holes, and cosmology. Brane-world models offer a phenomenological way to test some of the novel predictions and corrections to general relativity that are implied by M theory. This review analyzes the geometry, dynamics and perturbations of simple brane-world models for cosmology and astrophysics, mainly focusing on warped 5-dimensional brane-worlds based on the Randall--Sundrum models. We also cover the simplest brane-world models in which 4-dimensional gravity on the brane is modified at \emph{low} energies -- the 5-dimensional Dvali--Gabadadze--Porrati models. Then we discuss co-dimension two branes in 6-dimensional models.Comment: A major update of Living Reviews in Relativity 7:7 (2004) "Brane-World Gravity", 119 pages, 28 figures, the update contains new material on RS perturbations, including full numerical solutions of gravitational waves and scalar perturbations, on DGP models, and also on 6D models. A published version in Living Reviews in Relativit

WTO must ban harmful fisheries subsidies

Sustainably managed wild fisheries support food and nutritional security, livelihoods, and cultures (1). Harmful fisheries subsidies—government payments that incentivize overcapacity and lead to overfishing—undermine these benefits yet are increasing globally (2). World Trade Organization (WTO) members have a unique opportunity at their ministerial meeting in November to reach an agreement that eliminates harmful subsidies (3). We—a group of scientists spanning 46 countries and 6 continents—urge the WTO to make this commitment..