Model for the generation of leptonic mass. II

An analysis of a model for the generation of leptonic mass that considered only symmetric solutions is extended to include the possibility of asymmetric solutions. This possibility arises from a breakdown of a permutation symmetry between muon and electron. This broken symmetry also furnishes in a natural way a quantum number which distinguishes muons from electrons. A numerical study of the solutions of the extended model is performed, and it is shown that indeed their structure has a region with asymmetric solutions. The observed $\mu -e$ mass ratio lies within the range of estimates using this model, but the mass-splitting estimates thus obtained are seen to be very sensitive to computational errors as well as assumptions about unknown non-QED physics. The reasons for this sensitivity and sources of these errors are discussed. By an extrapolation of the model beyond the $\tau$, a new yet heavier lepton is predicted, and a comparison is made to those predicted by some other models. Experimental tests of these predictions shoud be possible using coming generations of accelerators.