The pseudo Goldstone boson mechanism for the “doublet-triplet splitting” problem of the grand unified theory can be naturally implemented in the scenario with extra dimensions and branes. The two SU(6) global symmetries of the Higgs sector are located on two separate branes while the SU(6) gauge symmetry is in the bulk. After including several vector-like fields in the bulk, and allowing the most general interactions with their natural strength (including the higher dimensional ones which may be generated by gravity) which are consistent with the geometry, a realistic pattern of the standard model fermion masses and mixings can be naturally obtained without any flavor symmetry. Neutrino masses and mixings required for the solar and atmospheric neutrino problems can also be accommodated. The geometry of extra dimensions and branes provides another way to realize the absence of certain interactions (as required in the pseudo Goldstone boson mechanism) or the smallness of some couplings (e.g., the Yukawa couplings between the fermions and the Higgs bosons), in addition to the usual symmetry arguments.

• Received 9 April 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.60.075015