Little Flavor and U(2) Family Symmetry

Abstract

We examine an effective field theory inspired by Little Flavor that demonstrates a new paradigm for generating quark and lepton masses in which the scale of new flavor physics can be at the few TeV level, and new $Z^{\prime }$ and $W^{\prime }$ bosons are predicted. The model possesses an approximate $U(2{)}^2$ vector symmetry, not the full approximate $U(2{)}^5$ chiral symmetry of the Standard Model or Minimal Flavor Violation models, yet flavor changing neutral currents are sufficiently suppressed. Additionally, lepton flavor violating processes, such as $\mu \to 3e$, lie naturally just below experimental bounds and the down quark mass can be radiatively generated.