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Autore principale: Barger, Vernon
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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Accesso online:https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.03631
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author Barger, Vernon
author_facet Barger, Vernon
contents Quark and lepton hierarchies are organized by rational powers of a single parameter in units of one ninth. We show that this ``flavor in ninths'' structure points to a discrete $\mathbb{Z}_{18}$ gauge origin of Froggatt--Nielsen symmetry, whose $\mathbb{Z}_9$ subgroup controls the flavor lattice. Identifying the flavon with the Peccei--Quinn field, the same symmetry stabilizes the QCD axion, enforces domain-wall number $N_{\rm DW}=1$, and predicts the axion--photon coupling through the anomaly ratio $E/N=8/3$ (or $2$ with light higgsinos). The lowest Planck-suppressed operator appears at dimension eighteen, naturally solving the axion quality problem. For $f_a\sim(5$--$8)\times10^{11}$ GeV the axion accounts for dark matter and lies within near-term haloscope reach.
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institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
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spellingShingle Flavor in Ninths and a Discrete Gauge Origin of the QCD Axion
Barger, Vernon
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Experiment
Quark and lepton hierarchies are organized by rational powers of a single parameter in units of one ninth. We show that this ``flavor in ninths'' structure points to a discrete $\mathbb{Z}_{18}$ gauge origin of Froggatt--Nielsen symmetry, whose $\mathbb{Z}_9$ subgroup controls the flavor lattice. Identifying the flavon with the Peccei--Quinn field, the same symmetry stabilizes the QCD axion, enforces domain-wall number $N_{\rm DW}=1$, and predicts the axion--photon coupling through the anomaly ratio $E/N=8/3$ (or $2$ with light higgsinos). The lowest Planck-suppressed operator appears at dimension eighteen, naturally solving the axion quality problem. For $f_a\sim(5$--$8)\times10^{11}$ GeV the axion accounts for dark matter and lies within near-term haloscope reach.
title Flavor in Ninths and a Discrete Gauge Origin of the QCD Axion
topic High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Experiment
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.03631