Scrutinizing the Mass Matrices in Three-Higgs-Doublet Models with Generalized CP Symmetries

Abstract

We investigate three-Higgs-doublet models with a softly broken generalized CP (GCP) symmetry, focusing on the Yukawa sector and its compatibility with quark flavor data. We first show that the 40 GCP-symmetric models previously identified are not all physically distinct, by constructing the basis transformations relating equivalent realizations and identifying spurious parameters. We then perform numerical fits to the six quark masses and the four independent parameters of the Cabibbo--Kobayashi--Maskawa matrix, further reducing the set of viable models. In contrast to the GCP-symmetric two-Higgs-doublet case, we find that GCP-symmetric three-Higgs-doublet models can successfully reproduce all quark masses and mixings. In total, 22 inequivalent models are compatible with current experimental data, and representative benchmark points are presented. Our results establish softly broken GCP-symmetric three-Higgs-doublet models as phenomenologically viable extensions of the Standard Model and provide a framework for further studies of their flavor phenomenology.