Speaker
Description
The frequency spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) remains a valuable and nearly untapped resource of cosmological data. By searching for departures from a perfect blackbody, it is possible to sensitively constrain the thermal history of the universe back to redshifts roughly three orders of magnitude higher than with CMB temperature anisotropies. In this talk, I will review the theory behind CMB spectral distortion generation, as well as current and upcoming experimental efforts. I will also discuss how a powerful code known as CosmoTherm can be used to derive and forecast multi-messenger constraints on a variety of dark matter scenarios, focusing on sub-eV candidates. To conclude, I'll highlight some future directions and synergies between the two fields that could prove fruitful in pinning down the microphysical nature of dark matter.
