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arXiv · 2604.23364

Spectral Butterfly Effect and Resilient Ringdown in Thick Braneworlds

Hai-Long Jia·Wen-Di Guo·Yu-Peng Zhang·Yu-Xiao Liu
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Abstract

The quasinormal mode spectrum is a unique fingerprint linking gravitational-wave observations to extra-dimensional geometry. In this Letter, we show that thick braneworlds exhibit a spectral butterfly effect: infinitesimal deformations of the effective potential trigger dramatic migrations of quasinormal modes, challenging the presumed stability of this fingerprint. Frequency-domain instabilities depend sensitively on the perturbation's location and strength. In the time domain, near-brane perturbations primarily modify the early ringdown, while far-brane perturbations generate clean late-time echoes. Crucially, the graviton zero mode remains localized, preserving four-dimensional gravity. Despite this pronounced spectral fragility, the observable early-stage signal under current detector sensitivities is still dominated by the original fundamental mode. Hence, thick braneworlds display a nontrivial coexistence of a fragile spectrum and a resilient ringdown, supporting the continued use of the standard fingerprint in present-day gravitational-wave astronomy while revealing its hidden sensitivity.

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Hai-Long Jia, Wen-Di Guo, Yu-Peng Zhang, Yu-Xiao Liu. 2026-04-25. Spectral Butterfly Effect and Resilient Ringdown in Thick Braneworlds. https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.23364

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