Gauging lepton flavor SU(3) for the muon $g-2$

TL;DR

This paper proposes embedding the $L_{}-L_{}$ lepton flavor difference into an SU(3) gauge symmetry, addressing neutrino masses, lepton masses, and anomalies in a unified model with testable predictions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel SU(3) gauge symmetry framework for lepton flavor, explaining neutrino masses, lepton masses, and anomalies within a single consistent model.

Findings

Predicts three heavy neutral leptons at GeV-TeV scale

Includes vectorlike charged lepton partners

Addresses the Cabibbo angle anomaly

Abstract

Gauging a specific difference of lepton numbers such as $L_{\mu}-L_{\tau}$ is a popular model-building option, which gives rise to economical explanations for the muon anomalous magnetic moment. However, this choice of gauge group seems rather arbitrary, and additional physics is required to reproduce the observed neutrino masses and mixings. We address these shortcomings by embedding $L_{\mu}-L_{\tau}$ in the vectorial SU(3) gauge symmetry of lepton flavor. The vacuum expectation values (VEVs) of scalar fields in the fundamental, six-dimensional and adjoint representations allow for phenomenologically viable lepton and gauge boson masses. The octet scalar gives rise to charged lepton masses, and together with the triplet scalar generates masses for all the leptophilic gauge bosons except for the $L_{\mu}-L_{\tau}$ one. The latter gets its smaller mass from the sextet VEVs, which also generate the neutrino masses, and are determined up to an overall scaling by the observed masses and mixings. The model predicts three heavy neutral leptons at the GeV-TeV scale as well as vectorlike charged lepton partners; it requires the mass of the lightest active neutrino to exceed $10^{-4}\,$eV, and it naturally provides a resolution of the Cabibbo angle anomaly.