Orbifold Reduction Of The Quark-Lepton Symmetric Model

We investigate the quark-lepton symmetric gauge group in five dimensions, with the gauge symmetry broken by a combination of orbifold compactification of the extra dimension and the Higgs mechanism. The gauge sector of the model is investigated and contrasted with the four dimensional case. We obtain lower bounds on the mass of the exotic gauge bosons, the inverse compactification scale and the exotic leptons. Light neutrinos are obtained without requiring any scale larger than a TeV. However an ultra-violet cut-off of order $10^{11}$ GeV is required to suppress proton decay inducing non-renormalizable operators.Comment: References added to match PRD versio

Suppressing Proton Decay By Separating Quarks And Leptons

Arkani-Hamed and Schmaltz (AS) have shown that proton stability need not originate from symmetries in a high energy theory. Instead the proton decay rate is suppressed if quarks and leptons are spatially separated in a compact extra dimension. This separation may be achieved by coupling five dimensional fermions to a bulk scalar field with a non-trivial vacuum profile and requires relationships between the associated quark and lepton Yukawa couplings. We hypothesise that these relationships are the manifestation of an underlying symmetry. We further show that the AS proposal may suggest that proton stability \emph{is} the result of an underlying symmetry, though not necessarily the traditional baryon number symmetry.Comment: 4 pages, references added to match published versio

Systematic Study Of Leptonic Mixing In A Class Of SU_H(2) Models

We perform a systematic analysis of the PMNS matrices which arise when one assigns the three generations of leptons to the $2\oplus 1$ representation of a horizontal $SU_H(2)$ symmetry. This idea has been previously explored by Kuchimanchi and Mohapatra. However, we assume $(i)$ the neutrino mass matrix results from leptonic couplings to $SU_L(2)$ triplet scalar fields and $(ii)$ hierarchies exist amongst lepton mass matrix elements which result from couplings to scalar fields with different $SU_H(2)$ charges. Of the sixteen candidate PMNS matrices which result it is found that only one is both predictive and possesses a leading order structure compatible with experimental data. The relevant neutrino mass matrix displays the symmetry $L_e-L_\mu-L_\tau$ to leading order and we explore the perturbations required to produce a realistic lepton spectrum. The effective mass in neutrinoless double beta decay is required to lie in the range $/(10^{-2}\mathrm{eV})\in[0.7,2.5]$, which is just below current experimental bounds. $U_{e3}$ is non-zero but not uniquely determined.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev.

Quark-Lepton Symmetry In Five Dimensions

We construct a complete five dimensional Quark-Lepton symmetric model, with all fields propagating in the bulk. The extra dimension forms an $S^1/Z_2\times Z_2'$ orbifold with the zero mode fermions corresponding to standard model quarks localised at one fixed point. Zero modes corresponding to left(right)-chiral leptons are localised at (near) the other fixed point. This localisation pattern is motivated by the symmetries of the model. Shifting the right-handed neutrinos and charged leptons slightly from the fixed point provides a new mechanism for understanding the absence of relations of the type $m_e=m_u$ or $m_e=m_d$ in Quark-Lepton symmetric models. Flavour changing neutral currents resulting from Kaluza Klein gluon exchange, which typically arise in the quark sector of split fermion models, are suppressed due to the localisation of quarks at one point. The separation of quarks and leptons in the compact extra dimension also acts to suppress the proton decay rate. This permits the extra dimension to be much larger than that obtained in a previous construct, with the bound $1/R\gtrsim30$ TeV obtained.Comment: 12 pages, references added to match published versio

(3+2) Neutrino Scheme From A Singular Double See-Saw Mechanism

We obtain a 3+2 neutrino spectrum within a left-right symmetric framework by invoking a singular double see-saw mechanism. Higgs doublets are employed to break $SU_{R}(2)$ and three additional fermions, singlets under the left-right symmetric gauge group, are included. The introduction of a singularity into the singlet fermion Majorana mass matrix results in a light neutrino sector of three neutrinos containing predominantly $\nu_{\alpha L}$, $\alpha=e,\mu,\tau$, separated from two neutrinos containing a small $\nu_{\alpha L}$ component. The resulting active-sterile mixing in the $5\times 5$ mixing matrix is specified once the mass eigenvalues and the $3\times3$ submatrix corresponding to the MNS mixing matrix are known.Comment: 5 pages, matches published versio

Radiative neutrino mass generation and dark energy

We study the models with radiative neutrino mass generation and explore the relation between the neutrino masses and dark energy. In these models, the pseudo-Nambu-Goldston bosons (pNGBs) arise at two-loop level via the Majorana neutrino masses. In particular, we demonstrate that the potential energy of the pNGB can be the dark energy potential and the observed value of the equation of state (EoS) parameter of the universe, $i.e.$, $w\simeq -1$, can be realized.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, a minor correction in Eq. (17

Relic neutrino asymmetry evolution from first principles

The exact Quantum Kinetic Equations for a two-flavour active-sterile neutrino system are used to provide a systematic derivation of approximate evolution equations for the relic neutrino asymmetry. An extension of the adiabatic approximation for matter-affected neutrino oscillations is developed which incorporates decoherence due to collisions. Exact and approximate expressions for the decoherence and repopulation functions are discussed. A first pass is made over the exact treatment of multi-flavour partially incoherent oscillations.Comment: RevTeX, 38 pages, crucial typos corrected; published versio