Vector-like Leptons in Light of the Cabibbo-Angle Anomaly

The first row of the Cabibbo-Cobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix shows a discrepancy of $\sim$$3\,\sigma$ with unitarity, known as the "Cabibbo Angle Anomaly" (CAA). This tension can be explained via modified $W$ couplings to leptons, but in order to consistently assess the validity of this solution, a global fit including the electroweak (EW) precision constraints and the low energy tests of lepton flavour universality (LFU) is necessary. Performing such a fit for gauge-invariant dimension-6 operators, we find that even when assuming LFU, including the CKM elements $V_{us}$ and $V_{ud}$ into the electroweak fit has a relevant impact, shifting the best fit point significantly. Vector-like leptons (VLLs) are prime candidates for a corresponding UV completion since they can affect the $W$ and $Z$ couplings to leptons already at tree-level. Studying each pattern of new physics (NP) given by the six possible representations of VLLs (under the SM gauge group) we find that any single representation describes experimental data at most slighlty better than the SM hypothesis. However, allowing for several representations of VLLs at the same time, we find a simple scenario consisting of a singlet, $N$, coupling to electrons and a triplet, $\Sigma_1$, coupling to muons which not only explains the CAA but also improves the electroweak fit in such a way that its best fit point is preferred by more than $4\,\sigma$ with respect to the SM.