The Dark Side of Flipped Trinification

We propose a model which unifies the Left-Right symmetry with the $SU(3)_L$ gauge group, called flipped trinification, and based on the $SU(3)_C\otimes SU(3)_L\otimes SU(3)_R\otimes U(1)_X$ gauge group. The model inherits the interesting features of both symmetries while elegantly explaining the origin of the matter parity, $W_P=(-1)^{3(B-L)+2s}$, and dark matter stability. We develop the details of the spontaneous symmetry breaking mechanism in the model, determining the relevant mass eigenstates, and showing how neutrino masses are easily generated via the seesaw mechanism. Viable dark matter candidates can either be a fermion, a scalar or a vector, leading to potentially different dark matter phenomenology.