The role of a higher derivative bulk scalar in stabilizing a warped spacetime

The back-reaction on the Randall–Sundrum warped spacetime is determined in the presence of a scalar field in the bulk. A general condition for the stability of such a model is derived for a bulk scalar field action with non-canonical higher derivative terms. It is further shown that the gauge hierarchy problem can be resolved in such a stabilized scenario by appropriate choice of various parameters of the theory.