Extra Dimensions and Warped Geometries Lisa Randall
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
S PACETIME REVIEW Extra Dimensions and Warped Geometries Lisa Randall The field of extra dimensions, as well as the hypothesized sizes of extra area of a sphere drawn at the distance r dimensions, have grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years. I (because all force lines penetrate the sphere’s summarize the new results and the reasons for the recent activity in this surface). Because the gravitational force be- field. These include the observations that extra dimensions can be mac- tween two masses is proportional to the prod- roscopic or even infinite in size. Another new development is the appli- uct of their masses, the 1/r 2 form of the force cation of extra dimensions to the determination of particle physics pa- law has important consequences for heavy rameters and properties. macroscopic objects, such as planets. The force law is also measured on very small We generally take it for granted that we live balls (compactification) or the more recent scales with much smaller objects. Here, the in a world where there are three infinite spa- proposal by Sundrum and myself of focusing weakness of gravity is in evidence, and other, tial dimensions. In fact, we rarely give this of the gravitational potential in a lower di- stronger forces can interfere with the mea- fact much thought; we readily refer to left- mensional subspace (localization) (3, 4). surement. The best measurement to date right, forward-backward, and up-down. These ideas are important in and of them- comes from an impressively accurate exper- Yet the most exciting developments in selves; one or the other would be the reason iment by Adelberger’s group at the Universi- particle physics in the past few years have we so far haven’t observed evidence for extra ty of Washington (6), where it has been involved the recognition that additional di- dimensions, should they exist. I then go on to determined that the 1/r 2 force law persists mensions might exist and furthermore might explore another exciting development in the down to distances on the order of a 10th of a play a role in determining our observable field of extra dimensions. This is the fact that millimeter. Deviations from this form on world. New theoretical discoveries are evolv- even though the dimensions have not yet shorter distance scales are not excluded. ing at a very rapid rate. As we will see, the been seen directly, their existence might ex- This means that according to detailed ex- potential implications range from experimen- plain important features of the observed stan- perimental observations, physics appears to on October 15, 2010 tal signatures of extra dimensions, to under- dard model and will be observed in the near reflect three spatial dimensions on distance standing fundamental questions about the na- future should these conjectures prove correct. scales ranging from a 10th of a millimeter to ture of gravity, to new insights into the evo- astrophysical and probably cosmological dis- lution of our universe. Hidden Dimensions tances. Were there more than three spatial One of the chief motivations for consid- Before proceeding, it is useful to describe dimensions, the gravitational force should ering additional dimensions came from string several of the ways in which we determine spread out in all these dimensions, and the theory, which in turn is motivated by the that there are three dimensions of space. Cer- force law would fall off faster, 1/r3 say, for failure of classical gravity to work at very tainly, that is all that we see at a casual one additional spatial dimension. Somehow, short distance scales or, equivalently, at very glance, but science often consists of probing in order to agree with what we observe, this high energies, where quantum mechanical ef- beyond what is manifestly “evident.” The key better not be the case, and was one of the first www.sciencemag.org fects cannot be neglected. The only known to understanding the experimental and astro- issues that needed to be addressed when ad- way to consistently reconcile quantum me- physical determination of the dimensions of ditional dimensions were suggested. chanics with Einstein’s theory of gravity is space is to consider the gravitational force Kaluza first proposed an additional di- string theory, in which the fundamental ob- law that says that the force between two mension in his attempt to reconcile electro- 2 jects that constitute our universe are not par- masses is GNm1m2/r , where r is the separa- magnetism and gravity (1). His additional ticles but (very tiny) extended objects: tion between the two masses. I use units dimension had finite size; there are three h ϭ ϭ strings. In what follows, I use very little of where ( /2) c 1(h, Planck’s constant; c, infinite spatial dimensions, but a fourth one is Downloaded from the full formalism that has been developed to the speed of light). Newton’s constant, GN,is trapped in a circle of size rc in the extra describe string theory. However, I am moti- (10Ϫ33 cm)2, which is very small. It is in- dimension. Einstein, the referee of the paper, 2 vated by one very important fact. It appears versely proportional to MP , where MP, the objected that the size of this additional di- that one can only have a consistent string Planck mass, is about 1019 GeV. This mass mension was not determined. Publication was theory that can describe the known particles scale appears because it is associated with the delayed until 1926, when Klein observed that if there are many additional spatial dimen- graviton coupling, where the graviton is the a circle of size determined by the Planck sions: six or seven, depending on how one spin-2 particle that mediates the gravitational scale, 10Ϫ33 cm, is completely unobservable looks at it. The question is, then, why don’t force (5). Such energies can only be probed at (2). This is readily understood intuitively; we see these additional directions? What has the very tiny Planck length, 10Ϫ33 cm. The dimensions whose size we cannot resolve are become of them? Can they play any role in position dependence of the force law is readi- observationally indistinguishable from no ex- the physics we see? And is there any chance ly understood as a consequence of the isotro- tra dimension at all. One common example to we will observe them soon? py of space—the fact that the laws of physics illustrate this is a garden hose; as viewed at a Here I describe the two known ways to do not distinguish any particular direction. distance, it appears to be one dimensional. incorporate additional dimensions of space Imagine that one can draw the gravitational However, up close, one readily perceives that that are consistent with what we see, or rather force as a set of lines emanating in all direc- there are three dimensions. From the vantage what we don’t see; namely Kaluza’s (1, 2) tions from a massive source, so that the den- point of the force law argument given above, original idea of curling them up into little sity of lines determines the strength of the force law can be consistent with what we gravity. observe because isotropy is violated; the di- It is clear that as we measure the force at mensions of finite size are readily distin- Jefferson Physical Laboratory, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. E-mail: randall@physics. increasing distance r, the strength is propor- guished from the “compactified” circular ex- harvard.edu tional to 1/r 2, or the inverse of the surface tra dimension. The force lines can only 1422 24 MAY 2002 VOL 296 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org S PACETIME spread a distance rc in the extra dimension. Planck mass are relevant. So it is too limiting to additional dimensions, because electromag- At larger distances, the force appears to be restrict ourselves to Planck-scale compactifica- netism, which is extremely well studied, be- just that of a four-dimensional (three space tion. If other possibilities exist, they should be haves just as it would in four dimensions, plus one time) universe. This argument can explored. In fact, experimental constraints tell regardless of the size of the additional dimen- also be used to see how the Planck scale of us only that the extra dimensions must be small- sions. However, the mechanism that confines a four-dimensional world is related to that er than about 10Ϫ16 mm, corresponding to the electromagnetism to the brane cannot be ap- of a higher dimensional world. In the n- mass scale 103 GeV probed by current particle plied to gravity; gravity must exist in the dimensional world, the force law dies off experiments. This means that from an experi- “bulk”; that is, the full spacetime. One way of with r as 1/rnϪ2 and is inversely propor- mental point of view, we really have no idea understanding this is that the graviton is con- tional to the higher dimensional “Planck” whether the dimensions are as small as the nected to the full spacetime geometry and is mass that determines the strength of the Planck length. They can be 16 orders of mag- coupled to energy anywhere. higher dimensional gravity, raised to the nitude larger [see (7) for example]. So the picture of ADD is that space is power n Ϫ 2. Because we average over the In fact, that is not the last word on the bounded by branes, where the standard model extra dimensions to see an effective lower possible size of extra dimensions. One of particles (but not gravity) are confined.