Speaker
Description
It is shown that in SO(10) models, a Yukawa sector consisting of a real $10_H$, a real
$120_H$ and a complex $126_H$ of Higgs fields can provide a realistic fit to all fermion
masses and mixings, including the neutrino sector. Although the group theory of
SO(10) demands that the $10_H$ and $120_H$ be real, most constructions complexify these
fields and impose symmetries exterior to SO(10) to achieve predictivity. The proposed
new framework with real $10_H$ and real $120_H$ relies only on SO(10) gauge symmetry,
and yet has a limited number of Yukawa parameters. This analysis shows that while
there are restrictions on the observables, a good fit to the entire fermion spectrum
can be realized. Unification of gauge couplings is achieved with an intermediate scale
Pati-Salam gauge symmetry. Proton decay branching ratios are calculable, with the
leading decay modes being $p → ν π^+$ and $p → e π^0$.
