Speaker
John Simonetti
(Virginia Tech)
Description
Given the difficulties in testing current frontier physics ideas in earth-based experiments, we might profitably look to the cosmos for observational tests. I will discuss observations that could set a limit on the size of a warped extra spatial dimension in the braneworld scenario. The observations would be similar to those that provided evidence of gravitational radiation by the binary pulsar B1913+16. In the presence of a warped extra spatial dimension a stellar mass black hole will evaporate at a sufficiently high rate to produce an observable orbital effect in a black-hole---pulsar binary system. For some masses and orbital parameters the binary components will outspiral, the opposite of the behavior due to energy loss by gravitational radiation alone. Observations of a black-hole---pulsar system could set considerably better limits on size of the extra dimension in these braneworld models than could be determined by torsion-balance gravity experiments in the foreseeable future.
