Minimally modified $A_4$ Altarelli-Feruglio model for neutrino masses and mixings and its experimental consequences

We present a simple modification of the Altarelli-Feruglio $A_4$ flavor symmetry model using a minimal number of parameters congruous with the symmetries of the original theory. The resulting model is consistent with all presently known data on neutrino masses and mixings. Furthermore, it makes testable tight predictions for future experiments aimed at improving the measurements of $\sin^2\theta_{12}$, $\sin^2\theta_{13}$, $\delta_{\rm CP}$ and the neutrinoless double-beta decay parameter $|m_{ee}|$. Our model exploits the unique possibility of multiple allowed, yet qualitatively different, contractions of fields charged under the $A_4$ discrete symmetry.