Stability of braneworlds with non-minimally coupled multi-scalar fields

Linear stability of braneworld models constructed with multi-scalar fields is very different from that of single-scalar field models. It is well known that both the tensor and the scalar perturbations of the latter are stable at linear level. However, in general there is no effective method to deal with the stability problem of the scalar perturbations for braneworld models constructed with non-minimally coupled multi-scalar fields. In this work we present a systematic covariant approach to deal with the scalar perturbations. By introducing the orthonormal bases in field space and making the Kaluza–Klein decomposition, we get a set of coupled Schrodinger-like equations of the scalar perturbation modes. Using the nodal theorem, we show that the result is model-dependent. For superpotential derived brane models, the scalar perturbations are stable, but there exist normalizable scalar zero modes, which will result in unacceptable fifth force on the brane. We also use this method to analyze the f(R) braneworld model with an explicit solution and find that the scalar perturbations are stable and the scalar zero modes cannot be localized on the brane, which ensures that there is no extra long-range force and the Newtonian potential on the brane can be recovered.