Graviscalar

In theoretical physics, a graviscalar (also known as a radion) is a hypothetical particle that emerges as an excitation of the metric tensor (i.e. gravitational field) but whose physical properties are virtually indistinguishable from a scalar in four dimensions, as shown in Kaluza-Klein theory. The new scalar field φ comes from a component of the metric tensor g₅₅ where the figure 5 labels an additional, fifth dimension. It can be thought of as a measure of the size of the extra dimension, with variations in the scalar field representing variations in the size of the extra dimensions.

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In models with multiple extra dimensions, there exist several such particles.

In theories with extended supersymmetry, a graviphoton is usually a superpartner of the graviton that behaves as a particle with spin 1.

See also

• graviphoton
• gravivector
• dilaton
• Kaluza-Klein theory
• Randall-Sundrum models.
• Goldberger-Wise mechanism