Static solutions for brane models with a bulk scalar field

We present static solutions of the 5-dimensional Einstein equations in the brane-world scenario by using two different approaches for the stabilization of the extra dimension. Assuming a "phenomenological" stabilization mechanism, that creates a non-vanishing (T) over cap(5)(5) in the bulk, we construct a two-brane model, which allows both branes to have positive self-energies. We then consider a candidate theory for the dynamical stabilization, through the introduction of a massless scalar field in the bulk, which interacts with the branes. We find exact static solutions for the metric and scalar field in the bulk and demonstrate that the inter-brane distance is determined by the parameters of scalar field-brane interactions. However, these solutions are always accompanied by a correlation between the bulk cosmological constant, the brane self-energies and the interaction terms of the scalar field with the branes and thus cannot be considered as candidates for the phenomenologically viable stabilized geometry. We find that the aforementioned correlation cannot be avoided even in the case of a single-brane solution with positive self-energy where the fifth dimension ends on a singularity. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.