Thick brane in reduced Horndeski theory

Abstract: Horndeski theory is the most general scalar-tensor theory retaining second-order field equations, although the action includes higher-order terms. This is achieved by a special choice of coupling constants. In this paper, we investigate thick brane system in reduced Horndeski theory, especially the effect of the non-minimal derivative coupling on thick brane. First, the equations of motion are presented and a set of analytic background solutions are obtained. Then, to investigate the stability of the background scalar profile, we present a novel canonically normalized method, and show that although the original background scalar field is unstable, the canonical one is stable. The stability of the thick brane under tensor perturbation is also considered. It is shown that the tachyon is absent and the graviton zero mode can be localized on the brane. The localized graviton zero mode recovers the four-dimensional Newtonian potential and the presence of the non-minimal derivative coupling results in a splitting of its wave function. The correction of the massive graviton KK modes to the Newtonian potential is also analyzed briefly.