Cosmological searches for the neutrino mass scale and mass ordering (1907.08010v1)

Abstract: In this thesis, I describe a number of recent important developments in neutrino cosmology on three fronts. Firstly, focusing on Large-Scale Structure (LSS) data, I will show that current cosmological probes contain a wealth of information on the sum of the neutrino masses. I report on the analysis leading to the currently best upper limit on the sum of the neutrino masses of $0.12\,{\rm eV}$. I show how cosmological data exhibits a weak preference for the normal neutrino mass ordering because of parameter space volume effects, and propose a simple method to quantify this preference. Secondly, I will discuss how galaxy bias represents a severe limitation towards fully capitalizing on the neutrino information hidden in LSS data. I propose a method for calibrating the scale-dependent galaxy bias using CMB lensing-galaxy cross-correlations. Moreover, in the presence of massive neutrinos, the usual definition of bias becomes inadequate, as it leads to a scale-dependence on large scales which has never been accounted for. I show that failure to define the bias appropriately will be a problem for future LSS surveys, and propose a simple recipe to account for the effect of massive neutrinos on galaxy bias. Finally, I discuss implications of correlations between neutrino parameters and other cosmological parameters. In non-phantom dynamical dark energy models, the upper limit on the sum of the neutrino masses becomes tighter than the $\Lambda$CDM limit. Therefore, such models exhibit an even stronger preference for the normal ordering, and their viability could be jeopardized should near-future laboratory experiments determine that the mass ordering is inverted. I then discuss correlations between neutrino and inflationary parameters. I find that our determination of inflationary parameters is stable against assumptions about the neutrino sector. (abridged)