Research Projects

The primary objective of this five year proposal is to carry out a comprehensive scientific assessment of an India led next generation Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) space mission that will seek the signature of primordial gravitational waves emitted close to cosmic origin. The proposed mission target a prized milestone science goal but with guaranteed high science returns and cutting edge technology gains for the nation. The assessment will build up on the expertise of the current and former research group to address this including realistic foreground contamination and instrumental/ observational systematic effects. In this effort, it is expected that CMB signal, instrumental noise and residual foreground effects will be cast jointly in the now widely used general Bipolar spherical harmonic (BipoSH) representation first proposed by Hajian & Souradeep 2003. The research program will revisit robust Bayesian search for deviations in the fundamental tenets and symmetries underpinning contemporary 'standard cosmological model' using the exquisite CMB anisotropy and polarization measurements available at present, expected in near future, and that forecast from a next generation CMB mission.