Astrophysical evidence for an extra dimension: Phenomenology of a Kaluza-Klein theory

In this brief review, we discuss the viability of a multi-dimensional geometrical theory with one compactified dimension. We discuss the case of a Kaluza-Klein (KK) fifth-dimensional theory, addressing the problem by an overview of the astrophysical phenomenology associated with this five-dimensional (5D) theory. By comparing the predictions of our model with the features of the ordinary (four-dimensional (4D)) Relativistic Astrophysics, we highlight some small but finite discrepancies, expectably detectible from the observations. We consider a class of static, vacuum solutions of free electromagnetic KK equations with three-dimensional (3D) spherical symmetry. We explore the stability of the particle dynamics in these spacetimes, the construction of self-gravitating stellar models and the emission spectrum generated by a charged particle falling on this stellar object. The matter dynamics in these geometries has been treated by a multipole approach adapted to the geometric theory with a compactified dimension. © World Scientific Publishing Company.