The work is articulated in four themes, covering challenges of the analysis pipeline: theory, data, inference and future programs.
Theory develops the cosmic phenomenology of high-energy models. My team has tracked down the imprints of beyond-the-standard-model (BSM) particles, such as axion-like particles and neutrinos with non-standard interactions. We have investigated the impact of assumptions traditionally made when studying these models, we have provided robust constraints with state-of-the-art cosmological dataset, and we have discussed the cosmological results considering complementary bounds from astrophysical and laboratory searches.
Data strengthens confidence in the treatment of complex new-generation data. My team has developed a novel methodology to generate computationally cheap and high-fidelity simulations of the SO observations to propagate the effects of different classes of instrumental systematics. We have been developing the official SO software for the likelihood analysis of SO probes. For the first time, this code will allow a joint analysis of the probes, enabling homogeneity as well as the inclusion of correlations between observables, which have been traditionally neglected. Finally, we have developed a unified framework for the computation of theoretical predictions of extragalactic emissions, which act as contaminant of the cosmological signal. This framework will not only provide a physical description of the emissions, which have been traditionally modeled empirically, but will also allow for the exploration of the underlying model of galaxy.
Inference develops tools in the framework of Bayesian statistics to extract robust constraints from CMB data. We have quantified the impact of different choices of prior probability distributions of model parameters on the final constraints. We have studied how to budget-in the error associated to the Montecarlo Markov Chain analysis used to derive constraints. This is a step towards clear and robust constraints that can be easily reproduced by the communities.
Future programs paves the way to future CMB missions. My team is studying the impact that the improved observation of large-scale CMB polarization from the future satellite mission LiteBIRD will have on the constraints on the reionization optical depth and, because of parameter correlation, on the mass scale of light relics, including neutrinos. My team is a key player of the LiteBIRD mission and has significantly contributed to the CMB-S4 collaboration, including in management roles.
