Bulk fields and supersymmetry in a slice of AdS

Five-dimensional models where the bulk is a slice of AdS have the virtue of solving the hierarchy problem. The electroweak scale is generated by a warp factor of the induced metric on the brane where the standard model fields live. However, it is not necessary to confine the standard model fields on the brane and we analyze the possibility of having the fields actually living in the slice of AdS. Specifically, we study the behaviour of fermions, gauge bosons and scalars in this geometry and their implications on electroweak physics. These scenarios may provide an explanation of the fermion mass hierarchy by warp factors. We also consider the case of supersymmetry in the bulk, and analyze the conditions on the mass spectrum. Finally, a model is proposed where the warp factor generates a small (TeV) supersymmetry-breaking scale, with the gauge interactions mediating the breaking to the scalar sector. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.