Cosmic Inflation and Structure Formation Through Global Analysis

During the last decades, high-precision experiments have made increasingly detailed measurements ofdiffuse Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) emitted by cosmological sources. This has revolutionizedthe understanding of our cosmic origins.

The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is our most preciousresource for understanding the Big Bang, while the Cosmic Infrared and Optical Backgrounds (CIB andCOB) provide unique constraints on the evolution of large scale structure from the first galaxies totoday. Until recently, measurements of these effects were limited by either foregrounds or instrumentalnoise.

However, the combined signal-to-noise ratio has now grown so large that the interplay betweenastrophysical confusion and instrumental systematic uncertainties dominate the error budget. To makefurther process, it has become critical to account for all sources of uncertainties simultaneously.

In theOrigins project, I will solve this challenge through joint integrated end-to-end analysis of multiple state-of-the-art experiments to construct a single coherent model of all main diffuse astrophysical emissionprocesses from 1 um to 23 GHz.

In a novel approach, Origins will utilize archival observations fromACT, AKARI, COBE/DIRBE, COBE/FIRAS, IRAS, Planck, and WMAP, many in the form of raw time-ordered data, with upcoming measurements from Simons Observatory and SPHEREx.

This will result inthe world’s strongest and most robust constraints on primordial inflationary gravitational waves; the mostaccurate map of CIB fluctuations published to date; and possibly the world’s first map of large-scale COBfluctuations.

Simultaneously, it will redefine our understanding of thermal dust emission in the MilkyWay spanning a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum, and will improve the precision of currentmodels of Zodiacal Light by several orders of magnitude. This Open Science project will define a newparadigm for next-generation CMB B-mode and EBL experiments.