11:00 am–12:00 pm ERC 401
Title: Cosmological neutrino mass bounds from a Bayesian & frequentist perspective
Abstract: The DESI galaxy survey has recently placed the tightest constraint on the sum of neutrino masses to date. For such effects “below the detection limit”, where data can only infer upper bounds, Bayesian and frequentist methods can give important complimentary information. I will begin with an overview of the frequentist profile likelihood method, its advantages and limitations. Using a frequentist and Bayesian toolbox, I will discuss neutrino mass constraints from Planck and DESI data. In particular, I will focus on the impact of different assumptions about the neutrino mass hierarchy on the inferred mass bounds: while it has been shown for previous experiments that the normal and inverted neutrino mass hierarchies are well approximated by three degenerate-mass neutrinos, we scrutinize this approximation in light of recent DESI data.
Zoom: https://uchicago.zoom.us/j/94680656636?pwd=GEOpCJhIabAS6gGyhhrgzVigS8b7FL.1
