Gauge Symmetry and Localized Gravity in M Theory

Abstract

We discuss the possibility of having gravity ``localized'' in dimension d in a system where gauge bosons propagate in dimension d+1. In such a circumstance - depending on the rate of falloff of the field strengths in d dimensions - one might expect the gauge symmetry in d+1 dimensions to behave like a global symmetry in d dimensions, despite the presence of gravity. Naive extrapolation of warped long-wavelength solutions of general relativity coupled to scalars and gauge fields suggests that such an effect might be possible. However, in some basic realizations of such solutions in M theory, we find that this effect does not persist microscopically. It turns over either to screening or the Higgs mechanism at long distances in the d-dimensional description of the system. We briefly discuss the physics of charged objects in this type of system.