Quark-Lepton Complementarity in Unified Theories

As pointed out by many authors, recent observations are consistent with an intriguing relation between the Cabibbo angle $\theta_C$ and the solar neutrino mixing angle $\theta_{12}$, namely $\theta_{12} \simeq \pi/4 - \theta_C$. Such quark-lepton complementarity (QLC) may be a signal of an underlying quark-lepton unification at short distances. We discuss possible ways to realize this relation in realistic quark-lepton unification theories by identifying a minimal set of operators that lead to QLC while remaining consistent with other known data. The purpose of this paper is to present the first elements of a unified model at the GUT scale capable of predicting the QLC relation. A generic prediction of our proposed class of models is the new relation for the lepton mixing angle $\theta_{13} \simeq \theta_C$, which allows these models to be confirmed or excluded by the current generation of neutrino oscillation experiments.