Fermion masses and mixings in a string-inspired model

In this paper we study quark and lepton mass matrix textures in a model containing an additional U(1${)}_{\mathit{X}}$ gauge symmetry with origins in string compactification. The U(1${)}_{\mathit{X}}$ symmetry is broken near the string scale, and we assume that the anomalies are canceled by the Green-Schwarz mechanism. We also assume that fermion mass matrices are generated by an additional scalar field through an approach analogous to that of Froggatt and Nielsen. By requiring that supersymmetry not be broken at the high scale, we can derive the vacuum expectation value of this scalar field to then predict fermion masses and mixings for any given X charge assignment. We examine the possible solutions, and although in the simplest model they do not completely agree with experiment, the results are close enough to merit further inspection. © 1996 The American Physical Society.