K\"ahler-driven Tribrid Inflation

We discuss a new class of tribrid inflation models in supergravity, where the shape of the inflaton potential is dominated by effects from the K\"ahler potential. Tribrid inflation is a variant of hybrid inflation which is particularly suited for connecting inflation with particle physics, since the inflaton can be a D-flat combination of charged fields from the matter sector. In models of tribrid inflation studied so far, the inflaton potential was dominated by either loop corrections or by mixing effects with the waterfall field (as in "pseudosmooth" tribrid inflation). Here we investigate the third possibility, namely that tribrid inflation is dominantly driven by effects from higher-dimensional operators of the K\"ahler potential. We specify for which superpotential parameters the new regime is realized and show how it can be experimentally distinguished from the other two (loop-driven and "pseudosmooth") regimes.Comment: 28 pages, v2: added some references, this version matches the publication in JCA

Right unitarity triangles and tri-bimaximal mixing from discrete symmetries and unification

We propose new classes of models which predict both tri-bimaximal lepton mixing and a right-angled Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) unitarity triangle, alpha approximately 90 degrees. The ingredients of the models include a supersymmetric (SUSY) unified gauge group such as SU(5), a discrete family symmetry such as A4 or S4, a shaping symmetry including products of Z2 and Z4 groups as well as spontaneous CP violation. We show how the vacuum alignment in such models allows a simple explanation of alpha approximately 90 degrees by a combination of purely real or purely imaginary vacuum expectation values (vevs) of the flavons responsible for family symmetry breaking. This leads to quark mass matrices with 1-3 texture zeros that satisfy the phase sum rule and lepton mass matrices that satisfy the lepton mixing sum rule together with a new prediction that the leptonic CP violating oscillation phase is close to either 0, 90, 180, or 270 degrees depending on the model, with neutrino masses being purely real (no complex Majorana phases). This leads to the possibility of having right-angled unitarity triangles in both the quark and lepton sectors.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figures, version to be published in NP

Minimal Lepton Flavour Violation and Leptogenesis with exclusively low-energy CP Violation

We study the implications of a successful leptogenesis within the framework of Minimal Lepton Flavour Violation combined with radiative resonant leptogenesis and the PMNS matrix being the only source of CP violation, which can be obtained provided flavour effects are taken into account. We find that the right amount of the baryon asymmetry of the universe can be generated under the conditions of a normal hierarchy of the light neutrino masses, a non-vanishing Majorana phase, sin(theta_{13})>0.13 and m_{nu,lightest}<0.04 eV. If this is fulfilled, we find strong correlations among ratios of charged LFV processes.Comment: published in JHEP, small change

Entangled maximal mixings in U_PMNS=U_l^dagger U_nu, and a connection to complex mass textures

We discuss two different configurations of U_PMNS=U_l^dagger U_nu with maximal mixings in both U_l and U_nu. The non-maximal mixing angles are assumed to be small, which means that they can be expanded in. Since we are particularly interested in the implications for CP violation, we fully take into account complex phases. We demonstrate that one possibility leads to intrinsically large theta_13 and strong deviations from maximal mixings. The other possibility is generically close to tri-bimaximal mixing, and allows for large CP violation. We demonstrate how the determination of the theta_23 octant and the precision measurement of delta_CP could discriminate among different qualitative sub-cases. In order to constrain the unphysical and observable phases even further, we relate our configurations to complex mass matrix textures. In particular, we focus on phase patterns which could be generated by powers of a single complex quantity eta=theta_C exp(i Phi), which can be motivated by Froggatt-Nielsen-like models. For example, it turns out that in all of the discussed cases, one of the Majorana phases is proportional to Phi to leading order. In the entire study, we encounter three different classes of sum rules, which we systematically classify.Comment: 27 pages, 6 tables, 1 figure. Shortened version to appear in Phys. Rev.

New GUT predictions for quark and lepton mass ratios confronted with phenomenology

Group theoretical factors from GUT symmetry breaking can lead to predictions for the ratios of quark and lepton masses (or Yukawa couplings) at the unification scale. Due to supersymmetric (SUSY) threshold corrections the viability of such predictions can depend strongly on the SUSY parameters. For three common minimal SUSY breaking scenarios with anomaly, gauge and gravity mediation we investigate which GUT scale ratios $m_e/m_d$, $m_\mu/m_s$, $y_\tau/y_b$ and $y_t/y_b$ are allowed when phenomenological constraints from electroweak precision observables, $B$ physics, $(g-2)_\mu$, mass-limits on sparticles from direct searches as well as, optionally, constraints from the observed dark matter density are taken into account. We derive possible new predictions for the GUT scale mass ratios and compare them with the phenomenologically allowed ranges. We find that new GUT scale predictions such as $m_\mu/m_s = 9/2$ or 6 and $y_\tau/y_b = 3/2$ or 2 are often favoured compared to the ubiquitous relations $m_\mu/m_s = 3$ or $y_\tau/y_b =1$. They are viable for characteristic SUSY scenarios, testable at the CERN LHC and future colliders.Comment: 33 pages, 5 figures; references added; version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Neutrino Masses and Mixings from String Theory Instantons

We study possible patterns of neutrino masses and mixings in string models in which Majorana neutrino masses are generated by a certain class of string theory instantons recently considered in the literature. These instantons may generate either directly the dim=5 Weinberg operator or right-handed neutrino Majorana masses, both with a certain flavour-factorised form. A hierarchy of neutrino masses naturally appears from the exponentially suppressed contributions of different instantons. The flavour structure is controlled by string amplitudes involving neutrino fields and charged instanton zero modes. For some simple choices for these amplitudes one finds neutrino mixing patterns consistent with experimental results. In particular, we find that a tri-bimaximal mixing pattern is obtained for simple symmetric values of the string correlators.Comment: 24 pages, 2 figure

Radiative Generation of the LMA Solution from Small Solar Neutrino Mixing at the GUT Scale

We show that in see-saw models with small or even vanishing lepton mixing angle $\theta_{12}$, maximal $\theta_{23}$, zero $\theta_{13}$ and zero CP phases at the GUT scale, the currently favored LMA solution of the solar neutrino problem can be obtained in a rather natural way by Renormalization Group effects. We find that most of the running takes place in the energy ranges above and between the see-saw scales, unless the charged lepton Yukawa couplings are large, which would correspond to a large $\tan \beta$ in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The Renormalization Group evolution of the solar mixing angle $\theta_{12}$ is generically larger than the evolution of $\theta_{13}$ and $\theta_{23}$. A large enhancement occurs for an inverted mass hierarchy and for a regular mass hierarchy with $|m_2 - m_1| \ll |m_2 + m_1|$. We present numerical examples of the evolution of the lepton mixing angles in the Standard Model and the MSSM, in which the current best-fit values of the LMA mixing angles are produced with vanishing solar mixing angle $\theta_{12}$ at the GUT scale.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures; reference added, minor changes in the text; results unchanged; final version to appear in JHE

New Parametrization of Neutrino Mixing Matrix

Global fits to neutrino oscillation data are compatible with tri-bimaximal mixing pattern, which predicts $\theta_{23} = \frac{\pi}{4}, \theta_{12} = \sin^{-1} (\frac{1}{\sqrt{3}})$ and $\theta_{13} = 0$. We propose here to parametrize the tri-bimaximal mixing matrix $V_{TBM}$ by its hermitian generator $H_{TBM}$ using the exponential map. Then we use the exponential map to express the deviations from tri-bimaximal pattern by deriving the hermitian matrices $H_{z=0}$ and $H_1$. These deviations might come from the symmetry breaking of the neutrino and charged lepton sectors.Comment: 10 pages, no figures, correted minor typo

Starobinsky-like inflation in no-scale supergravity Wess-Zumino model with Polonyi term

We propose a simple modification of the no-scale supergravity Wess-Zumino model of Starobinsky-like inflation to include a Polonyi term in the superpotential. The purpose of this term is to provide an explicit mechanism for supersymmetry breaking at the end of inflation. We show how successful inflation can be achieved for a gravitino mass satisfying the strict upper bound $m_{3/2}< 10^3$ TeV, with favoured values $m_{3/2}\lesssim\mathcal{O}(1)$ TeV. The model suggests that SUSY may be discovered in collider physics experiments such as the LHC or the FCC.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Leptogenesis in the two right-handed neutrino model revisited

We revisit leptogenesis in the minimal non-supersymmetric type I see-saw mechanism with two right-handed (RH) neutrinos, including flavour effects and allowing both RH neutrinos N_1 and N_2 to contribute, rather than just the lightest RH neutrino N_1 that has hitherto been considered. By performing scans over parameter space in terms of the single complex angle z of the orthogonal matrix R, for a range of PMNS parameters, we find that in regions around z \sim \pm \pi/2, for the case of a normal mass hierarchy, the N_2 contribution can dominate the contribution to leptogenesis, allowing the lightest RH neutrino mass to be decreased by about an order of magnitude in these regions, down to M_1 \sim 1.3*10^11 GeV for vanishing initial N_2-abundance, with the numerical results supported by analytic estimates. We show that the regions around z \sim \pm \pi /2 correspond to light sequential dominance, so the new results in this paper may be relevant to unified model building.Comment: 41 pages, 10 figures; v2 matches published version in PR