◾ Component separation for B-mode experiments

The gravitational waves in the primordial universe produce a faint curl-like polarization pattern in the cosmic microwave background. However, this signal is hidden below the emission from polarized thermal dust and synchrotron emission. Observations can only measure a mixture of the primordial and foreground signal and disentangling between the two requires a process called component separation. In this context, the candidate will participate to the leading role that the SISSA team has in international collaborations such as PolarBear/Simons Array and Simons Observatory as well as develop novel methodologies based on advanced statistical techniques. In particular, (s)he will work on cutting-edge image processing methods capable of capturing the the spatially-varying nature of the foreground signal in order to unveil the primordial gravitational wave signal. The work includes application of those techniques to real data from the Simons Array, and development of the suites of data analysis tools for the Simons Observatory. The project is rooted into international collaborations working at those experiments, characterized by constant communication, travels, meetings, etc.

◾ Scientific exploitation of the POLARBEAR 2 and Simons Array data sets

The POLARBEAR project has been observing the microwave sky since 2013. POLARBAER 2 will see first light by the end of 2018 and start science observations in early 2019. In addition, two more receivers will be deployed during the following year. The candidate will join the collaboration during this exciting growth period, in which these major upgrades will produce a tremendous increase in the volume of the data acquired at the site. Furthermore, novelties in the hardware — dichroic focal planes and continuously spinning half-wave plates — will also make this new data set qualitatively different from the one of POLARBEAR. The candidate will devise the data analysis procedure capable of fully exploiting the scientific potential of this new cutting-edge observation. This will include the characterization of the instrument properties and response, as well as the optimal way to compress the information it produced. Besides contributing to the cosmological and astrophysical exploitation of the data set, the candidate will learn and develop advanced techniques in statistics and high-performance computing. The project is in connection with the POLARBEAR/Simons Array Collaboration.