DILUTING GRAVITY WITH COMPACT HYPERBOLOIDS

I give a brief informal introduction to the idea and tests of large extra dimensions, focusing on the case in which the space-time manifold has a direct product structure. I then describe some attractive implementations in which the internal space comprises a compact hyperbolic manifold. This construction yields an exponential hierarchy between the usual Planck scale and the true fundamental scale of physics by tuning only coefficients, since the linear size of the internal space remains small. In addition, this allows an early universe cosmology with normal evolution up to substantial temperatures, and completely evades astrophysical constraints.