Neutrino tri-bi-maximal mixing from Delta(27)

Abstract

The observed neutrino mixing, having a near maximal atmospheric neutrino mixing angle and a large solar mixing angle, is close to tri-bi-maximal, putting leptonic mixing in contrast with the small mixing of the quark sector. We discuss a model in which Delta(27) (a subgroup of SU(3)) is the family symmetry, and tri-bi-maximal mixing directly follows from the vacuum structure enforced by the discrete symmetry. The model accounts for the observed quark and lepton masses and the CKM matrix, as well as being consistent with an underlying stage of Grand Unification.