Based on a non-Abelian generalization of electric–magnetic duality, the Dualized Standard Model (DSM) suggests a natural explanation for exactly three generations of fermions as the "dual colour" [Formula: see text] symmetry broken in a particular manner. The resulting scheme then offers on the one hand a fermion mass hierarchy and a perturbative method for calculating the mass and mixing parameters of the Standard Model fermions, and on the other hand testable predictions for new phenomena ranging from rare meson decays to ultra-high energy cosmic rays. Calculations to one-loop order gives, at the cost of adjusting only three real parameters, values for the following quantities all (except one) in very good agreement with experiment: the quark CKM matrix elements ‖Vrs‖, the lepton CKM matrix elements ‖Urs‖, and the second generation masses mc, ms, mμ. This means, in particular, that it gives near maximal mixing Uμ3 between νμ and ντ as observed by SuperKamiokande, Kamiokande and Soudan, while keeping small the corresponding quark angles Vcb, Vts. In addition, the scheme gives (i) rough order-of-magnitude estimates for the masses of the lowest generation, (ii) predictions for low energy FCNC effects such as KL→ eμ, and (iii) a possible explanation for the long-standing puzzle of air showers beyond the GZK cut-off. All these together, however, still represent but a portion of the possible physical consequences derivable from the DSM scheme, the majority of which are yet to be explored.
Light quark masses and CKM matrix elements from lattice QCD
