Equivalence principle and the gauge hierarchy problem

We show that the gauge hierarchy problem can be solved in the framework of scalar-tensor theories of gravity very much in the same way as it is solved in the Randall-Sundrum scenario. Our solution involves a fine-tuning of the gravitational sector which can, however, be avoided if a supergravity extension of the dilaton sector is considered. However our mechanism does not require the introduction of extra dimensions or new physics strongly coupled to the standard model in the low energy regime. We do introduce a new scalar field which is, however, coupled only gravitationally to regular matter. The physical reason for the splitting between the weak scale and the Planck scale is a violation of Einstein’s equivalence principle.