Abstract
We discuss the consequences of assuming that the (Majorana) neutrino mass matrix and the charged lepton mass matrix satisfy and with respect to some discrete groups and contained in . These assumptions lead to a neutrino mass spectrum with two degenerate and one massless neutrino and also constrain mixing among them. We derive possible mixing patterns following from the choices , , and as subgroups of . One predicts the maximal atmospheric neutrino mixing angle and reflection symmetry in a large number of cases, but it is also possible to obtain nonmaximal values for . Only the third column of the neutrino mixing matrix can be obtained at the leading order due to degeneracy in masses of two of the neutrinos. We take up a specific example within the group and identify Higgs vacuum expectation values which realize the above assumptions. Nonleading terms present in this example are shown to lead to splitting among degenerate pairs and a consistent description of both neutrino masses and mixing angles.
- Received 22 June 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.94.036008
© 2016 American Physical Society