Friday, June 27, 2025

Theories To Explain The Fundamental Fermion Masses

A new review paper which will be a chapter in an Encyclopedia of Particle Physics summarizes various theories that have been advanced to explain the fundamental fermion masses in the Standard Model, and while it isn't complete, its table of contents is a nice summary of some of the leading approaches.

2 Fermion masses and mixing angles 
2.1 The Standard Model 
2.2 Neutrino masses 
Majorana neutrino masses
The seesaw mechanism
Type-I seesaw
Type-III seesaw
Type-II seesaw
Dirac neutrino mass
2.3 The data 

3 In search of an organizing principle 

4 Grand Unified Theories 
4.1 SU(5) GUTs 
4.2 SU(10) GUTs 

5 Fermion masses from quantum corrections 
5.1 Radiative fermion masses 
5.2 Infrared fixed points 

6 CompositeFermions 
6.1 Massless composite fermions 
6.2 Partial compositeness 

7 Flavor Symmetries 
7.1 The Froggatt-Nielsen Model 
7.2 Variants and alternatives 

8 Fermion masses in String Theory 
8.1 Aiming at the SM from strings 
8.2 Eclectic flavor symmetries from heterotic orbifolds 
8.3 Flavor in models with D-branes 
8.4 Metaplectic flavor symmetries from magnetized branes

The LP & C relationship, and the kind of dynamical balancing rules that I favor don't get a mention, although they come closest to the quantum corrections approach. 

1 comment:

neo said...

what Theories To Explain The Fundamental Fermion Masses do you back up the most ?