Moving domain walls in AdS5 and graceful exit from inflation

We consider moving-brane-solutions in AdS type background. In the first Randall-Sundrum configuration, there are two branes at fixed points of the orbifold symmetry. We point out that if one brane is fixed and the other brane is moving, the configuration is still a solution provided the moving brane has a specific velocity determined by its tension and bulk cosmological constant. In the absence of the Z(2) symmetry, we can construct multi-brane configurations by patching AdS-Schwarzschild solutions. In this case, we show that the 4-dimensional effective cosmological constant on the brane world is not well defined. We find a condition for a brane to be stationary. Using the brane scattering, we suggest a scenario of inflation on the brane universe during a finite time, i.e., a scenario of a graceful exit of inflation. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.