Models of Flavor with Discrete Symmetries

Abstract

In an attempt to understand the observed patterns of lepton and quark masses, models invoking a flavor symmetry $G_f$, under which the Standard Model generations are charged, have been proposed. One particularly successful symmetry, U(2), has been extensively discussed in the literature. The Yukawa matrices in models based on this symmetry reproduce the observed mass ratios in the lepton and quark sectors. The features of the symmetry that determine the texture of the Yukawa matrices can be found in other symmetries as well. We present a model based on a minimal, non-Abelian discrete symmetry that reproduces the Yukawa matrices associated with U(2) theories of flavor. In addition to reproducing the mass and mixing angle relations obtained in such theories, the different representation structure of our new horizontal symmetry allows for solutions to the solar and atmospheric neutrino problems.