Related papers: The Mystery of Flavor
Strongly coupled supersymmetric theories can give rise to composite quarks and leptons at low energy. We show that the internal structure of these particles can explain the origin of three generations and provide a qualitative understanding…
The mass hierarchy among the three generations of quarks and charged leptons is one of the greatest mysteries in particle physics. In various flavor models, the origin of this phenomenon is attributed to a series of hierarchical spontaneous…
The heaviness of the third family fermions and the experimental absence of large flavor violating processes suggest, in supersymmetric theories, that the three families belong to a $2+1$ representation of a horizontal symmetry $G_H$. In…
It is argued with the help of an illustrative model, that the inter--species hierarchy among the fermion masses and the quark mixing angles can be accommodated naturally in the standard model with (approximate) flavor democracy provided…
We discuss aspects of a promising top-down origin of flavor symmetries in particle physics. Modular transformations originating from string theory dualities are shown to play a crucial role. We introduce the notion of an "eclectic" flavor…
We argue that the fermion masses and mixings are organized in a specific pattern. The approximately equal hierarchies between successive generations, the sizes of the mixing angles, the heaviness of just the top quark, and the approximate…
Family symmetries are possibly the most conservative extension of the Standard Model that attempt explanations of the pattern of fermion masses and mixings. The observed large mixing angles in the lepton sector may be the first signal for…
We show that the recently constructed 5-dimensional supersymmetric $S^1/(Z_2\times Z_2')$ orbifold GUT models allow an appealing explanation of the observed hierarchical structure of the quark and lepton masses and mixing angles. Flavor…
The flavour puzzle remains as one of the most intriguing enigmas of particle physics. In this thesis, we propose and study theories of flavour which generically hint to a multi-scale origin of flavour. First we explore the idea of…
This paper is concerned with a way of thinking about the standard model that explains the existence of three fermion families and the value of the fine structure constant. The main idea is that the ultraviolet divergences that we encounter…
Non-trivial patterns of quark and lepton masses and mixings can arise without there being any underlying flavor symmetry that distinguishes among the three families. Two realistic examples are given.
In order to explain the fermions masses and mixing parameters appearing in the lepton sector of the Standard Model, one proposes the extension of its symmetry. A discrete, non-abelian subgroup of $U(3)$ is added to the gauge group…
In the frame of two Higgs doublet model we try to explain the lepton masses and mixing matrix elements assuming that neutrinos are Dirac particles. Discrete family symmetry groups, which are subgroups of U(3) up to the 1025 order are…
I review a recent work on gauged flavor with left-right symmetry, where all masses and all Yukawa couplings owe their origin to spontaneous flavor symmetry breaking. This is suggested as a precursor to a full understanding of flavor of…
We present a short review of a 6-dimensional model where a flavour puzzle of the Standard Model fermions finds an elegant solution. The mechanism is based on an idea that the three fermionic generations originate from a single 6D family.…
It was recently proposed that all flavor mixing has a single source, namely the mixing of the three quark and lepton families with "extra" vectorlike fermions in 5 + 5-bar multiplets of SU(5). This was shown to lead to several testable…
The flavour puzzle is an open problem both in the Standard Model and in its possible supersymmetric or grand unified extensions. In this thesis, we discuss possible explanations of the origin of fermion mass hierarchies and mixings by the…
Neutrino masses and mixings are very different from quark masses and mixings. This puzzle is a crucial hint in the search for the mechanism which determines fermion masses in grand unified theories. We study the flavour problem in an SO(10)…
The quark-lepton mass problem and the ideas of mass protection are reviewed. The hierarchy problem and suggestions for its resolution, including Little Higgs models, are discussed. The Multiple Point Principle is introduced and used within…
Supersymmetric theories involving a spontaneously broken flavor symmetry can solve the flavor-changing problem while having quark and lepton masses derived from both $F$ and $D$ terms. As an example, a theory of leptons is constructed in…