Are the CKM anomalies induced by vector-like quarks? Limits from flavor changing and Standard Model precision tests

TL;DR

This paper investigates whether vector-like quarks at the TeV scale can explain anomalies in the CKM matrix unitarity and flavor physics, analyzing constraints and potential signals for future experiments.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of how different types of vector-like quarks can resolve CKM anomalies and assesses their compatibility with flavor and precision tests.

Findings

Extra vector-like quarks should have masses no more than a few TeV.

A combination of different vector-like quark types is needed to explain all anomalies.

Future experiments can test these scenarios through direct detection and precision measurements.

Abstract

Recent high precision determinations of $V_{us}$ and $V_{ud}$ indicate towards anomalies in the first row of the CKM matrix. Namely, determination of $V_{ud}$ from superallowed beta decays and of $V_{us}$ from kaon decays imply a violation of first row unitarity at about $4\sigma$ level. Moreover, there is tension between determinations of $V_{us}$ obtained from leptonic $K\mu2$ and semileptonic $K\ell3$ kaon decays. These discrepancies can be explained if there exist extra vector-like quarks at the TeV scale, which have large enough mixings with the lighter quarks. In particular, extra vector-like weak singlets quarks can be thought as a solution to the CKM unitarity problem and an extra vector-like weak doublet can in principle resolve all tensions. The implications of this kind of mixings are examined against the flavour changing phenomena and SM precision tests. We consider separately the effects of an extra down-type isosinglet, up-type isosinglet and an isodoublet containing extra quarks of both up and down type, and determine available parameter spaces for each case. We find that the experimental constraints on flavor changing phenomena become more stringent with larger masses, so that the extra species should have masses no more than few TeV. Moreover, only one type of extra multiplet cannot entirely explain all the discrepancies, and some their combination is required. We show that these scenarios are testable with future experiments. Namely, if extra vector-like quarks are responsible for CKM anomalies, then at least one of them should be found at scale of few TeV, and anomalous weak isospin violating $Z$-boson couplings with light quarks should be detected if the experimental precision on $Z$ hadronic decay rate is improved by a factor of $2$ or so.