Stability of gravity-scalar systems for domain-wall models with a soft wall

Abstract: We show that it is possible to create an RS soft-wall model, a model with a compact extra dimension, without using fundamental branes. All that is required are bulk scalar fields minimally coupled to gravity. Of crucial importance is the stability of the size of the extra dimension. Without branes, one cannot easily implement the Goldberger-Wise mechanism, and instead it must be shown that the scalar configuration is stable in its own right. We use the superpotential approach for generating solutions, the so called 'fake supergravity' scenario, and show that configurations generated in such a way are always free of tachyonic modes. Furthermore, we show that the model is also free of zero modes (in the spin-0 sector) if all the scalars have odd parity. We discuss the hierarchy problem in soft-wall models, and applications of our analysis to the AdS/QCD correspondence.