1207.1496 (Fernando Izaurieta et al.)

Effectively four-dimensional spacetimes emerging from d=5
Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet Gravity    [PDF]

Fernando Izaurieta, Eduardo Rodríguez

Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity in five-dimensional spacetime provides an excellent example of a theory that, while including higher-order curvature corrections to General Relativity, still shares many of its features, such as second-order field equations for the metric. In particular, we focus on the largely unexplored case where the coupling constants of the theory are such that no constant-curvature solution is allowed, leaving open the question of what the vacuum state should then be. We find that even a slight deviation from the anti-de Sitter Chern-Simons theory, where the vacuum state is five-dimensional AdS spacetime, leads to a complete symmetry breakdown, with the fifth dimension either being compactified into a small circle or shrinking away exponentially with time. A complete family of solutions, including duality relations among them, is also uncovered. This dynamical dimensional reduction scenario seems particularly attractive as a means for higher-dimensional theories to make contact with our four-dimensional world.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1207.1496