Fermion and weak-boson masses in a composite model

In a model where quarks and leptons are fermion-boson composites we show that a realistic mass spectrum and flavor mixing can be obtained in a natural way. A metacolor SU(n)/sub MC/ gauge interaction, which is supposed to confine at a scale Λ/sub MC/approx.2 TeV is responsible for the binding. The elementary fermions carry all the SU(2)/sub L/ x U(1)/sub Y/ x SU(3)/sub C/ quantum numbers, while the number N of different elementary scalars determines the number of light composite families. The 't Hooft anomaly conditions impose the constraint n = N. The light fermions acquire their masses through transitions to quasistable excited states of mass Mapprox. =Λ/sub MC/, which are mediated by the SU(2)/sub L/ x U(1)/sub Y/ x SU(3)/sub C/ interactions. The neutrinos remain massless. The weak bosons W+-,Z0 obtain their masses through the Schwinger mechanism. The main contribution to these masses comes from the coupling to the quasistable fermionic excited states. The successful lowest-order prediction of the standard model, M/sub W/ = M/sub Z/costheta/sub W/, is also obtained here. No new particles or processes that are forbidden by current phenomenology are expected