Real and imaginary elements of fermion mass matrices

Abstract Prompted by the recent better determination of the angles of the unitarity triangle, we re-appraise the problem of finding simple fermion mass textures, possibly linked to some symmetry principle and compatible with grand unification. In particular, the indication that the angle α is close to rectangle turns out to be the crucial ingredient leading us to single out fermion mass textures whose elements are either real or purely imaginary. In terms of the five parameters ascribed to the quark sector, these textures reproduce the eight experimental data on quark mass ratios and mixings within 1 σ . When embedded in an SU ( 5 ) framework, these textures suggest a common origin for quark and lepton CP violations, also linked to the spontaneous breaking of the gauge group.