Brane-World Gravity

The observable universe could be a 1+3-surface (the "brane") embedded in a 1+3+ddimensional 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 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 ( 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…

• RC
  Research Councils UK
• SA
  Science and Technology Facilities Council

  Awards: ST/H002774/1, ST/F002335/1