Radiative Origin of the Fermion Mass Hierarchy: A Realistic and Predictive Approach

The up-down splitting within quark families increases with the family number: m_u ~ m_d, m_c > m_s, m_t >> m_b. We show an approach that realizes this feature of the spectrum in a natural way. We suggest that the mass hierarchy is first generated by radiative effects in a sector of heavy isosinglet fermions, and then projected to the ordinary light fermions by means of a seesaw mixing. The hierarchy appears then inverted in the light fermion sector. We present a simple left-right symmetric gauge model in which the P- and CP-parities and an isotopical "up-down" symmetry are softly (or spontaneously) broken in the Higgs potential. Experimentally consistent predictions are obtained. The Cabibbo angle is automatically in the needed range: Theta_C ~ 0.2. The top quark is naturally heavy, but not too heavy: m_t < 150 GeV.