SPACE Colloquium: Martino Romaniello - "The Hubble Constant and the Quest to Measure the Universe"
Via Mezzocannone 4
Scuola Superiore Meridionale
Abstract. The Hubble Constant, H₀, measures the current expansion rate of the Universe. It is one of the most fundamental parameters in cosmology, setting the absolute distance scale and,hence, the age of the Universe and the absolute values of luminosities and sizes. Ever since a non-static Universe emerged as a natural, and yet unexpected, consequence of Einstein's equations of General Relativity, measuring what came to be known as the Hubble Constant has sparked fierce scientific debate. In this talk, I will trace this fascinating history, from the earliest attempts to map the cosmos to the current tension between early- and late-Universe measurements of H₀. This discrepancy, if not attributable to systematic errors, may point to physics beyond the standard cosmological model — posing one of the deepest challenges to our current understanding of the Universe.
Bio. Martino Romaniello is an astronomer at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Headquarters in Garching bei München, Germany. He is Head of the Back-end Operations Department, responsible for managing the science data stream from the La Silla Paranal Observatory, including the ESO Science Archive and the scientific oversight of data processing tools and operations. He is a keen advocate for Open Science and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles. His research interests focus on the local distance ladder and its connection to the present-day value of the Hubble constant H₀, with a particular emphasis on Cepheid variable stars as standardizable candles for accurate and precise distance measurements. At the intersection of his operational role and his own research lies a broader interest in advanced algorithms for data processing and the application of AI in astronomy. He holds a PhD in Physics from the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa (Italy).