Towards the detection of primordial gravitational waves in the CMB polarized signal

Join the Webinar from browser or MS Teams App at https://bit.ly/35BVyie

SPEAKER: Dr. Nicoletta Krachmalnicoff (SISSA, Trieste)

ABSTRACT: After the great success of WMAP and Planck space missions,we have now entered a new era in Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) observations, where the goal is the detection of the signature of primordial gravitational waves in the so-called B-mode polarized signal. This measurement would allow to unveil, for the first time, the physics of the Inflationary epoch, but it appears to be extremely challenging: not only exquisite sensitivity is needed but also high control of the bright non-cosmological polarized emissions,
dominating over the B-mode signal all over the sky. In this talk I will briefly introduce the physics of CMB polarization and review the current status of observations. I will also describe the prospective for future experiments showing how we are getting prepared to achieve the first detection of primordial gravitational waves in the coming decade. I will also focus on the  problem of Galactic foreground contamination, which represents one of the biggest challenges in the observation of the CMB B-modes. I will describe our current knowledge of polarized. Galactic emissions, which are the main limitations we are facing and how we can overcome them.
Poster of the event is available at https://bit.ly/3dm88F3
Tor Vergata Astrophysics Group