Minimal U(1) two-Higgs-doublet models for quark and lepton flavour

Abstract

In the context of the 2HDM, and assuming that neutrinos acquire masses via the Weinberg operator, we perform a systematic analysis to determine the minimal quark and lepton flavour patterns, compatible with masses, mixing and CP violation data, realisable by Abelian symmetries. We determine four minimal models for quarks, where the number of independent parameters matches the number of observables. For the lepton sector, three minimal predictive models are identified. Namely, we find scenarios with a preference for the upper/lower octant of the $\theta_{23}$ atmospheric mixing angle, that exhibit lower bounds on the lightest neutrino masses currently probed by cosmology and testable at future neutrinoless double beta decay experiments, even for a normally-ordered neutrino masses. We investigate the phenomenology of each model taking into account all relevant theoretical, electroweak precision observables, scalar sector constraints, as well as stringent quark flavour processes such as $\overline{B} \rightarrow X_s \gamma$, $B_s \rightarrow \mu^- \mu^+$ and meson oscillations, and the charged lepton flavour-violating decays $e_\alpha^{-} \rightarrow e_\beta^{-} e_\gamma^{+} e_\delta^{-}$ and $e_\alpha \rightarrow e_\beta \gamma$. We show that, in some cases, Abelian flavour symmetries provide a natural framework to suppress flavour-changing neutral couplings and lead to scenarios featuring heavy neutral/charged scalar masses below the TeV scale within the reach of current experiments.