Abstract: Gravitational waves (GWs) provide a unique probe of the early universe, as they can travel almost freely from their generation to the present. I will discuss two cosmological GW sources: primordial GWs from quantum fluctuations during inflation and scalar-induced GWs (SIGWs) produced by curvature perturbations at horizon reentry. Both can reveal the universe’s thermal history. In particular, I will highlight how a non-standard reheating phase imprints distinctive features on the GW spectrum, and how the Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) bound constrains the high-frequency tail of primordial GWs. I will also discuss the recent pulsar timing array (PTA) results and their possible interpretation as SIGWs, which may shed light on early-universe dynamics. Finally, I will briefly address the gauge issue of SIGWs and describe how to define a gauge-invariant observable by constructing a generalized idealized detector including second-order effects.
Dissabte 25 d’octubre, la Facultat de Ciències de la UAB va acollir la prova de preselecció del curs Bojos per les Matemàtiques, impulsat per la Societat Catalana de Matemàtiques (SCM) i la Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera. L’objectiu era escollir els futurs participants de l’edició 2026 del programa, una experiència de sis mesos pensada per acostar l’alumnat de batxillerat a la recerca matemàtica real.
El matí va començar amb la prova de nivell. A continuació, els estudiants i les seves famílies van visitar les instal·lacions del Centre de Recerca Matemàtica, on Pau Varela, del departament de Comunicació, va conduir una visita guiada pels espais del centre. La trobada va incloure un petit esmorzar, que va servir per conversar i intercanviar impressions. Una bona oportunitat per descobrir de prop on treballen investigadors i investigadores d’arreu del món, i per compartir l’experiència amb altres participants.
Tot seguit, a la sala d’actes de la facultat, Montse Alsina, presidenta de la SCM, va presentar les activitats de divulgació que impulsa la societat. Després, Núria Fagella, degana de la Facultat de Matemàtiques i Informàtica de la UB i investigadora adscrita al CRM, va parlar del grau en Matemàtiques de la Universitat de Barcelona, i Juan Jesús Donaire, professor del Departament de Matemàtiques i degà de la Facultat de Ciències de la UAB, va presentar el grau de la seva universitat.
La jornada es va tancar amb la xerrada Matemàtiques que flueixen, a càrrec de Marc Calvo, professor adjunt a la UPC i investigador adscrit al CRM, que va mostrar com els models matemàtics poden descriure fenòmens físics reals, del moviment dels fluids a altres processos naturals. Aquesta prova dona el tret de sortida al procés de selecció del curs Bojos per les Matemàtiques 2026, que es desenvoluparà entre gener i juny.
Els estudiants seleccionats tindran l’oportunitat de treballar al costat d’investigadors i investigadores de la UB, la UAB, la UPC i el CRM. Sis mesos d’immersió en el pensament matemàtic.
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La prova de preselecció de Bojos per les Matemàtiques va reunir estudiants de tot Catalunya a la UAB i al CRM, amb presentacions a càrrec de Montse Alsina, presidenta de la Societat Catalana de Matemàtiques, Núria Fagella, degana de la Facultat de Matemàtiques i…
The XIII GEFENOL-DIFENSC Summer School gathered over thirty researchers from across Europe to explore how statistical physics helps explain complex phenomena in biology, ecology, networks, and social systems. In his closing lecture, Jordi Mompart (UAB) examined how…
An international collaboration including researchers from the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica (CRM) has shown that when several bifurcations occur close to one another, their interaction can dramatically amplify critical slowing down effect – the progressive slowdown of…
Gustavo Ferreira and Tássio Naia, CRM postdoctoral researchers and new Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellows. Gustavo Ferreira and Tássio Naia, who joined the CRM in 2023 through the María de Maeztu programme, have started their Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral…
From October 13 to 17, 2025, the CRM hosted Matroid Week, a research school on combinatorial geometries and matroid theory. Courses by Laura Anderson and Geoff Whittle explored intersection properties and structural emergence in matroids. The event fostered deep…
Mathematician László Lovász received the 2025 Erasmus Medal from the Academia Europaea yesterday at the PRBB in Barcelona, where he delivered the lecture “The Beauty of Mathematics”. Renowned for his work in graph theory and discrete mathematics, Lovász has shaped…
For one week in early October, the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica became a meeting ground for the world of combinatorial geometry. The Polytope Week research school gathered more than fifty participants from three continents to study the interplay…
From October 6–10, 2025, the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica hosted the XIII GEFENOL-DIFENSC Summer School, bringing together young researchers and leading experts to explore the role of statistical physics in understanding complex systems. The program featured courses…
The first CS³ Summer School on Complex Systems transformed the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica into a crossroads of ideas, where physicists, biologists, economists, and mathematicians explored how order and chaos intertwine across nature and society….
Full professor at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and researcher at the Centre de Recerca Matemàtica, Jezabel Curbelo has been honored with the 2025 National Research Award for Young Researchers in the María Andresa Casamayor category (Mathematics and ICT)….
ICIAM Board and VIASM Members during a breakVietnam hosted the ICIAM Board Meeting and Workshop this September at the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics (VIASM), gathering 70 delegates from five continents. CRM researcher Tim Myers attended as the…
A paper recently published in Current Opinion in Neurobiology by Jens-Bastian Eppler, Matthias Kaschube, and Simon Rumpel shows that…
The post Els estudiants participants a la prova de preselecció de Bojos per les Matemàtiques visiten el CRM first appeared on Centre de Recerca Matemàtica.
The rigour of scientific research and the magic of radio narrative go hand in hand with Blau de Prússia, the podcast co-produced by Tarragona Ràdio and the Institute for Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) that has already created 50 episodes in four seasons. It is a unique proposal on the scientific and communicative scene: a sound series that combines chemical dissemination with space fiction, in an innovative, entertaining format of high educational value.
On board the Margulis space ship, named after the scientist Lynn Margulis, Captain Vigo, the android Denver 7 and Captain Barcino, rescued from the Hypatia ship, face a new challenge in each episode that tests their scientific knowledge and imagination. Technical problems and unexpected phenomena force the crew to resort to science and the memory of an artificial intelligence that preserves the voices of the ICIQ research staff.
With immersive sound effects and a script that combines humour, emotion and knowledge, Blau de Prússia manages to transform complex concepts into captivating stories, making chemistry a close and fascinating experience for all audiences.
Blau de Prússia is the result of a unique collaboration between two teams that share the same goal: to bring chemical research closer to the public in a creative and understandable way. The ICIQ communication and dissemination unit is in charge of conceiving and writing the scripts, turning complex scientific concepts into stories full of rhythm and narrative sense. And in each chapter, ICIQ researchers contribute their expertise. On the other hand, the Tarragona Radio team gives sound shape to the project, with a careful production and a science fiction format that has captivated the audience.
“Blau de Prússia is an example of how science and chemistry in particular can excite and entertain. When journalists and researchers work together, dissemination takes on another dimension,” says Professor Emilio Palomares, director of the ICIQ.
The topics addressed at the Blau de Prússia connect directly with the cutting-edge lines of research of the ICIQ, a national and European reference center in chemical research.
In its fourth season, the podcast dives into the key role of CO₂: from an environmental problem to a valuable resource for a cleaner economy. The chapters explore concepts such as industrial decarbonisation – with a special focus on the Tarragona chemical estate – renewable hydrogen generation as an energy vector of the future, and Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), materials recently awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their potential to capture and transform CO₂.
In Blau de Prússia, this research becomes part of the plot: the discoveries born in the ICIQ laboratories are transformed into solutions for the Margulis spacecraft and, in turn, a window into the future of science that seeks a more sustainable planet.
Since its launch in 2022, Blau de Prússia has already published 4 seasons and more than 50 episodes, available on Tarragona Ràdio and the ICIQ website, as well as on Spotify and Enacast. In 2023 it was a finalist in the Catalan Podcast Sound Awards, where among the nearly 200 nominations that had been submitted, the jury chose three finalists in the “Best Advertising Podcast” category. And in the Local Communication Awards 2023, among the nearly 60 nominations that had been submitted, the jury chose the Blau de Prússia among three of the finalists, in the category of “Best multimedia and transmedia content.”
Tarragona Ràdio has reached 50,000 listeners, with 202,625 hours consumed (+75% compared to 2023) and almost 25,000 podcasts downloaded to Spotify, with a growth of 160% compared to the previous year. With thousands of loyal listeners, Blau de Prussia has established itself as a benchmark in scientific dissemination in Catalan, demonstrating that chemistry can be as exciting as a galactic adventure.
“We have managed to make chemistry sound like a space adventure. If a single listener falls in love with science after listening to us, the mission will be accomplished”, adds Xavier de Gispert, managing director of Tarragona Ràdio.
Episodes of Blau de Prússia are available at:
www.tarragonaradio.cat
www.iciq.org/ca/divulgacio/public-general/podcast-blau-de-prussia/
Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Enacast
La entrada “Blau de Prússia”: The union of the ICIQ and Tarragona Ràdio that makes us travel through knowledge aboard a space ship se publicó primero en ICIQ.
