In
theoretical physics, the hypothetical particle called the graviscalar or radion emerges as an excitation of general relativity's
metric tensor
In the mathematical field of differential geometry, a metric tensor (or simply metric) is an additional structure on a manifold (such as a surface) that allows defining distances and angles, just as the inner product on a Euclidean space allows ...
, i.e.
gravitational field
In physics, a gravitational field is a model used to explain the influences that a massive body extends into the space around itself, producing a force on another massive body. Thus, a gravitational field is used to explain gravitational phenome ...
, but is indistinguishable from a
scalar
Scalar may refer to:
*Scalar (mathematics), an element of a field, which is used to define a vector space, usually the field of real numbers
* Scalar (physics), a physical quantity that can be described by a single element of a number field such ...
in four dimensions, as shown in
Kaluza–Klein theory. The
scalar field
In mathematics and physics, a scalar field is a function (mathematics), function associating a single number to every point (geometry), point in a space (mathematics), space – possibly physical space. The scalar may either be a pure Scalar ( ...
comes from a component of the metric tensor
where the figure 5 labels an additional
fifth dimension. The only variations in the scalar field represent variations in the size of the extra dimension. Also, in models with multiple extra dimensions, there exist several such particles. Moreover, in theories with
extended supersymmetry, a graviscalar is usually a
superpartner of the
graviton that behaves as a particle with
spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
0. This concept closely relates to the gauged
Higgs models.
See also
*
Graviphoton (aka gravivector)
*
Dilaton
In particle physics, the hypothetical dilaton particle is a particle of a scalar field \varphi that appears in theories with Dimension (mathematics and physics)#Additional dimensions, extra dimensions when the volume of the compactified dimensions ...
*
Kaluza–Klein theory
*
Randall–Sundrum models
*
Goldberger–Wise mechanism
References
* Roy Maartens, “Brane-World Gravity”, Living Rev. Relativ., 7, (2004), 7
Supersymmetry
Theories of gravity
Hypothetical elementary particles
Force carriers
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