Little flavor: A model of weak-scale flavor physics

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel flavor physics model at the TeV scale, leveraging little Higgs symmetries to naturally suppress flavor-changing neutral currents without minimal flavor violation.

Contribution

It links little Higgs global symmetries with flavor symmetries from extra-dimensional deconstruction, proposing a new approach to flavor physics at accessible energies.

Findings

Flavor changing neutral currents are suppressed below standard model radiative levels.

Flavor physics occurs at the few TeV scale, avoiding large FCNCs.

The model does not require minimal flavor violation to control flavor-changing processes.

Abstract

We describe a model of quarks which identifies the large global symmetries of little Higgs models with the global flavor symmetries that arise in a deconstruction of the extra-dimensional 'topological insulator' model of flavor. The nonlinearly realized symmetries of little Higgs theories play a critical role in determining the flavor structure of fermion masses and mixing. All flavor physics occurs at the few TeV scale in this model, yet flavor changing neutral currents arising from the new physics are naturally smaller than those generated radiatively in the standard model, without having to invoke minimal flavor violation.