Spectral Butterfly Effect and Resilient Ringdown in Thick Braneworlds

Abstract

The quasinormal mode spectrum is a unique fingerprint linking gravitational-wave observations to extra-dimensional geometry. In this Letter, we show that thick braneworlds exhibit a spectral butterfly effect: infinitesimal deformations of the effective potential trigger dramatic migrations of quasinormal modes, challenging the presumed stability of this fingerprint. Frequency-domain instabilities depend sensitively on the perturbation's location and strength. In the time domain, near-brane perturbations primarily modify the early ringdown, while far-brane perturbations generate clean late-time echoes. Crucially, the graviton zero mode remains localized, preserving four-dimensional gravity. Despite this pronounced spectral fragility, the observable early-stage signal under current detector sensitivities is still dominated by the original fundamental mode. Hence, thick braneworlds display a nontrivial coexistence of a fragile spectrum and a resilient ringdown, supporting the continued use of the standard fingerprint in present-day gravitational-wave astronomy while revealing its hidden sensitivity.