Gravitational conformal invariance and coupling constants in Kaluza-Klein theory

We introduce a generalized gravitational conformal invariance in the context of non-compactified 5D Kaluza-Klein theory. It is done by assuming the 4D metric to be dependent on the extra non-compactified dimension. It is then shown that the conformal invariance in 5D is broken by taking an absolute cosmological scale R-0 over which the 4D metric is assumed to be dependent weakly on the 5th dimension. This is equivalent to Deser's model for the breakdown of the conformal invariance in 4D by taking a constant cosmological mass term mu(2) similar to R-0(-2) in the theory. We set the scalar field to its background cosmological value leading to Einstein equation with the gravitational constant G(N) and a small cosmological constant. A dual Einstein equation is also introduced in which the matter is coupled to the higher-dimensional geometry by the coupling G(N)(-1). Relevant interpretations of the results are also discussed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.