High Energy Theory Seminar

Could the Standard Model quarks, leptons, and Higgs emerge as bound states of more fundamental constituents? In this talk, we investigate this possibility within a renormalizable preon model based on a confining chiral SU(15) gauge theory. We focus on whether this framework can accommodate the observed fermion mass hierarchies and quark mixing. Assuming hierarchical textures for two flavor-breaking couplings, we construct a benchmark that reproduces all six quark masses, the three charged-lepton masses, and the CKM matrix with order-one nonperturbative coefficients. These same couplings generate rare flavor- and CP-violating processes, connecting the origin of fermion masses to experimental probes of compositeness. We examine the sensitivity of the electron electric dipole moment, neutral-meson mixing, and charged-lepton flavor violation, and compare their reach with proton-decay searches. Together, these observables offer complementary tests of composite quarks and leptons at scales far beyond direct collider access.

The talk is in 469 Lauritsen.

Contact [email protected] for Zoom information.