Experimental signatures of split fermions in extra dimensions

The smallness and hierarchy of the fermion parameters could be explained in theories with extra dimensions where doublets and singlets are localized at slightly separated points. Scattering cross sections for collisions of such fermions vanish exponentially at energies high enough to probe the separation distance. This is because the separation puts a lower bound on the attainable impact parameter in the collision. The NLC, and in particular the combination of the e⁺e^- and e^-e^- modes, can probe this scenario, even if the inverse fermion separation is of order tens of TeVs.