I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, where I work with Prof. Marc Kamionkowski on various aspects of theoretical cosmology, mainly focusing on the use of the large-scale structure of the Universe to test fundamental physics, theories of gravity, models of dark matter and other cosmological models.
At the moment I am particularly interested in gravitational waves. I am working on trying to understand if Primordial Black Holes can make up all or a part of the Dark Matter, and if GW from BH-BH mergers are in fact signatures of PBH Dark Matter. I am also interested in investigating the indirect detection of gravitational waves by using observations of the large-scale structure of the Universe.
I also work with Prof. Alex Szalay and Prof. Joe Silk on several aspects of theoretical and observational cosmology, in particular on redshift-space distortions analyses.
I use observations of the clustering of structures across cosmic time to test cosmological models and theories of gravity on a wide range of scales. My main current interests include redshift-space distortions, baryon acoustic oscillations and the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect. In particular, at the moment I am interested in how to model the n-point galaxy correlation function on very large scales, including geometrical and General Relativistic effects, and how to use galaxy clustering to test a variety of cosmological models and parameters.
I am part of SPHEREx, the Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) cosmology working group, a member of SDSS-IV. I am a member of the ASKAP/EMU and the SKA Radio Surveys and I am interested in studying how we can use forthcoming radio surveys for cosmology, in particular for testing cosmological models and parameters of dark energy and modified gravity.
I completed my Master of Science in Astronomy in Italy, at the University of Padova, under the supervision of Prof. Sabino Matarrese and Prof. Giuseppe Tormen. My thesis was based on a study of the integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect via the correlation of NVSS radio sources with CMB maps. Following my graduation, I had a fellowship at the Astronomical Observatory of Padova under a contract with the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF), to work with Prof. Gianfranco De Zotti on the ISW.
I obtained my Ph.D. from the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG) at the University of Portsmouth, in England, working under the supervision of Prof. Will Percival on tests of cosmological structure growth. In particular, I focused on Redshift-Space Distortions on large scales: we developed and tested a formalism that allows the inclusion of galaxy pairs with wide angular separation, and then applied it to a real data analysis. At the ICG I also worked with Dr. David Bacon on how to use forthcoming radio surveys to perform cosmological studies; this granted me the participation to the cosmology working group and the planning of future radio surveys.
During my first postdoctoral position I worked at NASA JPL and the California Institute of Technology, under the supervision of Dr. Olivier Doré, on the Large Scale Structure of the Universe. In particular I worked on how to model the galaxy correlation function on large scales, including general relativistic and geometry effects; this is going to be a fundamental part of future cosmological analyses that will be performed with forthcoming and planned galaxy surveys such as PFS, DESI, LSST, Euclid, WFIRST and the SKA. I used precise models of galaxy clustering to test cosmological models and their parameters, including models for gravity, dark matter and the primordial universe.
Currently, I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, where I work with Prof. Marc Kamionkowski, Prof. Alex Szalay, and Prof. Joseph Silk; I use observations of the clustering of structures across cosmic time to test cosmological models and theories of gravity on a wide range of scales. My main current interests include redshift-space distortions, baryon acoustic oscillations, the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect and gravitational waves, in particular in relation to the model where primordial black holes comprise the dark matter.
Here are my main research topics
More details soon...
;
;
;
Selected media coverage of my reserach
• SKA: Astronomers Preparing To Map The Universe With Largest Radio Telescope Ever Built
• Astronomers prepare to map the universe with largest radio telescope ever built (Astronomy Now)
• Team sets out to map universe, unraveling its mysteries along the way (CBS)
• LIGO could catch dark matter made of black holes - New Scientist
• LIGO, forse un solo Nobel non basta - Media INAF
• Did Ligo detect dark matter? - Daily Mail
• Did Gravitational Wave Detector Find Dark Matter? - JHU press release
• Con le onde gravitazionali potremmo aver scoperto anche la materia oscura - Repubblica
Università degli Studi di
Padova
Institute of Cosmology & Gravitation
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Caltech
Johns Hopkins University
Marc Kamionkowski
Alex Szalay
Sabino Matarrese
Olivier Doré
I want to acknowledge my past supervisors and mentors: Sabino Matarrese, Gianfranco De Zotti, Will Percival, David Bacon, Olivier Dore, Marc Kamionkowski, Alex Szalay, Joe Silk
My research is supported by the John Templeton Foundation at Johns Hopkins University, working in collaboration with Prof. Marc Kamionkowski, Prof. Alex Szalay and Prof. Joe Silk
;