The Flavor Puzzle: Textures and Symmetries

TL;DR

This paper explores a unified framework for understanding flavor symmetries in particle physics, emphasizing the role of modular transformations from string theory and introducing the concept of local flavor unification to explain fermion masses and mixings.

Contribution

It proposes an eclectic flavor scheme unifying traditional, modular, and CP symmetries, and demonstrates successful fits of fermion masses and mixings near special points in moduli space.

Findings

Successful fits of quark and lepton masses and mixing angles.

Introduction of the eclectic flavor scheme unifying multiple symmetry types.

Identification of local flavor unification phenomena at fixed points in moduli space.

Abstract

We discuss aspects of a promising top-down origin of flavor symmetries in particle physics. Modular transformations originating from string theory dualities are shown to play a crucial role. We introduce the notion of an "eclectic" flavor scheme that unifies traditional flavor symmetries, modular symmetries and CP-transformations. It exhibits the phenomenon of "Local Flavor Unification" with enhanced flavor symmetries at fixed points or lines in moduli space. Successful fits of masses and mixing angles of quarks and leptons are found in the vicinity of these points and lines.