Gauge theory for baryon and lepton numbers with leptoquarks

Models where the baryon (B) and lepton (L) numbers are local gauge symmetries that are spontaneously broken at a low scale are revisited. We find new extensions of the standard model which predict the existence of fermions that carry both baryon and lepton numbers (i.e., leptoquarks). The local baryonic and leptonic symmetries can be broken at a scale close to the electroweak scale and we do not need to postulate the existence of a large desert to satisfy the experimental constraints on baryon number violating processes like proton decay.