Computational tools and hardware development for 21 cm cosmology and CMB in the 21th century

• Grant number: 25/02867-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: June 27, 2025
• End date: April 26, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Astronomy - Extragalactic Astrophysics
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Alexandre Wuensche de Souza
• Grantee: Carlos Alexandre Wuensche de Souza
• Host Investigator: Giancarlo de Gasperis
• Host Institution: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE). Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brasil). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Italy

Abstract

This project addresses two different science paths of interest and with a good potential of contribution for the BINGO telescope (under construction in Brazil), LSPE (under construction in Italy) and QUBIC (beginning to operate in Argentina). The first is the development of software tools that are essential for a good science case either in CMB and 21 cm cosmology: map making and component separation. These steps are the beginning of the analysis pipeline to process the data produced by an instrument and is an area where both the proponent and the host have a large experience. The second is related to hardware development in international collaboration for a cosmology dedicated telescope. It relates the excess radio background measured by ARCADE with COSMO, a mostly-italian telescope to search for spectral distortions in the CMB blackbody spectrum in the 110 - 300 GHz frequency band. This needed hardware development for this point is an area in which the proponent has large experience and the cosmology group at University of Rome "La Sapienza" (including the host) has a tradition that goes back to the 70's. We expect that this project can return, in addition to high quality science with the computational tools and hardware activities developed, a long-term collaboration between INPE and the University of Rome "La Sapienza", including participation in COSMO and the exchange of students, postdocs and scientists for the next decade.