Anomalous Microwave Emission (AME) is potentially polarized in the frequency range [1-100] GHz. The polarization properties of this astrophysical signal have to be characterized and understood completely for one willing to remove Galactic foregrounds in order to detect B-mode polarization for cosmology. The characterization of AME polarization properties is also fundamental in term of Galactic Astrophysics to understand the mechanisms producing the AME. The PolAME project aims to use the QUIJOTE-CMB experiment and its two instruments (the MFI and the TGI) for measuring the degree of polarization of the AME in the domain range [10-30] GHz on a sample of selected sources. This new data, in addition to new C-BASS data and the WMAP and PLANCK maps and ancillary data will be compared to theory and state-of-the-art modelling results. The Galactic science community will greatly benefit the new advances that will be provided by the PolAME project. The main outcome of this project will lead to a stronger characterization of the Galactic Polarized Foregrounds which is fundamental for cosmology. Knew knowledge will be produced about our understanding of the nature of the AME and dust grain evolution processes in our Galaxy.

The overarching goal of ChronoGal is to unveil the sequence of events and physical processes that have shaped the Milky Way (MW) from its early assembly to the present, by providing the holy grail of Galactic Archaeology (GA): precise age information. Our Galaxy is key to study disk galaxy formation and evolution, as it can be analyzed in exceptional detail using individual stars carrying the fossil record of its entire evolution. The importance of GA is underscored by the vast resources invested in it: Gaia parallaxes, homogeneous photometry, proper motions and velocities have transformed the field, aided by a huge effort from ambitious ground-based spectroscopic surveys. Despite spectacular recent progress, GA is nearing an impasse due to the lack of precise ages for large, unbiased stellar samples, which are critical for determining our Galaxy’s chronology. My unique expertise allows me to tackle this key issue by including color-magnitude diagram fitting in the field’s toolbox. Previously limited to studying external Local Group galaxies, this technique can finally now be applied to our Galaxy, providing unprecedentedly precise and homogeneous age-metallicity distributions for hundredths of millions of stars across all MW components. This is made possible by the accurate Gaia-based distances. ChonoGal’s ages will provide clear answers to persistent questions on MW evolution. Crucially, ChronoGal will precisely date the disk emergence, determine the duration of the enigmatic thick disk phase, resolve the debate on the presence of intermediate-age stars in the bulge, reconstruct the major halo building blocks and pinpoint the accretion time of these fossils of high-redshift dwarf galaxies. This will clarify the impact of mergers on shaping the stellar content and morphology of disk galaxies. This ambitious and urgent project, with Gaia DR4 in 2026, will be transformative, providing the reliable and precise ages needed to advance our MW understanding.

Central regions of galaxies are inhabited by dense small structures, such as nuclear star clusters (NSCs) and nuclear disks and rings. These, at the bottom of the galactic potential well, are important tracers of the overall galaxy evolution, but the dominant mechanisms of their formation in galaxies of different masses and morphologies are still unclear. The TraNSLate project (Tracing galaxy evolution with Nuclear Structures in Late-type galaxies) will shed light on this issue, combining high-resolution zoom-in cosmological simulations with state-of-the-art integral-field spectroscopy observations. TraNSLate will be conclusive on the role of gas accretion and inflow followed by nuclear in-situ star formation, and stellar accretion and migration to the center of a galaxy. First, I will quantify the relative contribution of these processes in the central regions of 50 simulated galaxies. I will identify potential nuclear structures and unveil how they formed going back in time to previous snapshots of simulations. Secondly, I will focus on NSCs in observations of eight massive late-type galaxies (so far poorly studied), and their properties will be interpreted with the help of recipes provided by simulations. Finally, since higher resolution than current state of the art is needed to detect the smallest NSCs, TraNSLate will deliver one NSC-oriented pilot simulation, with a factor of 10 higher resolution, and a detailed plan for a future complete run of 20 more simulations. The TraNSLate project will be carried out at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias under the supervision of Dr. C. Brook, expert on theoretical studies on the formation of galactic structures in a cosmological context. The theoretical expertise of the supervisor and the host research group is very complementary to my observational background, and with this fellowship I will acquire a complete, versatile and mature profile as a scientist, in a position to pursue long-term leadership positions.

This research project aims to study the variations of the solar magnetic field in flares, the most energetic events in our solar system. Flares accelerate charged particles into space, which may adversely affect satellites and Earth’s technology. Despite their clear importance for today’s technology, the timing and positioning when flares occur are so far unpredictable. Changes in the solar magnetic field topology are known to be the causes for flares, but their physics is not understood in detail. Past studies have shown prominent changes of the magnetic field in the photosphere during flares. But higher in the atmosphere, in the chromosphere, studies are scarce because ground-based telescopes with special instrumentation and capabilities are needed. No space mission has been or is being planned with capabilities for those chromospheric magnetic measurements. The most suitable spectral range to study the upper chromosphere is the He I 1083.0 nm triplet and the project has access to two unique data sets of high-energetic flares in this spectral region. Since there are no diagnostic tools for this prominent spectral triplet in flares, the first goal is to upgrade an existing tool (spectral-line inversion code) to include flare physics. The code will be made freely available for the benefit of the scientific community, so that it can be used to analyze future flare observations in this wavelength range. The second aim is to use the upgraded tool to infer for the first time the evolution of the magnetic field vector in the two abovementioned data sets. The results will provide thresholds for the shear/ twist of the field lines that lead to the analyzed flares. Hydrodynamic simulations and satellite data will complement the results to simulate the atmospheric response to the flare and compute the energy budget of the magnetic changes compared to other flare processes. The results will have a deep impact on flare models, future predictors, and space weather.