Anomalous Fermion Mass Generation at Three Loops

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new three-loop mechanism for gauge-invariant fermion mass generation via global anomalies, which could impact model building and low-scale mass creation without spontaneous symmetry breaking.

Contribution

It proposes a novel three-loop anomaly-based fermion mass generation mechanism that does not rely on spontaneous symmetry breaking.

Findings

Global anomalies can generate fermion masses at three loops.

Heavy fermions and scalar states influence anomaly-induced mass generation.

Implications for low-scale fermion masses via quantum gravity effects.

Abstract

We present a novel mechanism for generating gauge-invariant fermion masses through global anomalies at the three loop level. In a gauge theory, global anomalies are triggered by the possible existence of scalar or pseudoscalar states and heavy fermions, whose masses may not necessarily result from spontaneous symmetry breaking. The implications of this mass-generating mechanism for model building are discussed, including the possibility of creating low-scale fermion masses by quantum gravity effects.