On Brane Stabilization and the Cosmological Constant

We address the problem of the cosmological constant within the Randall-Sundrum scenario with a brane stabilization mechanism. We consider brane tensions of general form. We examine the conditions under which a small change of the positive tension of the first brane can be absorbed in a small modification of the two-brane configuration, instead of manifesting itself as a cosmological constant. We demonstrate that it is possible to have a cosmological constant in the range predicted by recent observational data, if there is an ultraviolet cutoff of order 10 TeV in the contributions to the brane tension from vacuum fluctuations.