Abstract

We have witnessed some flavor anomalies appearing in the past years, and explanations based on extended gauge sectors are among the most popular solutions. These beyond the Standard Model (SM) theories often assume flavor-changing interactions mediated by new vector bosons. Still, at the same time, they could yield deviations from the SM in the K degrees - over bar K degrees, D degrees - over bar D degrees, B degrees d - B over bar degrees d, and B degrees s - B over bar degrees smeson systems. Using up-to-date data on the mass difference of these meson systems, we derive lower mass bounds on vector mediators for two different parametrizations of the quark mixing matrices. Focusing on a well-motivated model based on the fundamental representation of the weak SU(3) gauge group, we put our findings into perspective with current and future hadron colliders to conclude that meson mass systems can give rise to bounds much more stringent than those from high-energy colliders and that recent new physics interpretations of the b -> s and R(D*) anomalies are disfavored.