Enabling large optical systems capable of resolving and measuring faint sources not accessible with current remote sensing instruments and detectors is the scientific overarching aim of LIOM by creating and sustain an excellent ERA Chairs optics and photonics' technology group of experimental physicists and astronomers, engineers, and technicians with an innovative optics and photonics technology environment. Under the leadership of the outstanding researcher and research manager Prof. Jeffrey Kuhn we aim to build a collaboration that will lead to the development of the next 50 years of astronomical telescopes - be they on the ground, space, or the moon. The main objective is to build new capacities at the IAC, Canary Islands, to develop new optical and tensegrity technologies to incorporate into the next generation of telescopes aimed at high-contrast imaging of exoplanets around very bright stars to enable the search for signs of life. We've called this an "ExoLife Finder (ELF)" telescope but this direct imaging technology is equally important, for example, for the commercial study of man-made satellites in the terrestrial to CISLunar environments. LIOM optics technologies will also have important social benefits, for example the new ultra-thin and light mirrors created during this program would be key components of Earth-orbiting optically-linked satellites that will constitute the next phase of the "world-wide web" - the space-based global optical internet. With the implementation of this ERA Chairs project, the IAC will enlarge its outstanding flagship in Europe and beyond, specifically in the field of optical remote sensing technologies for astronomical purposes, exemplifying not only the achievements in R&I and its capacity development or competitiveness, but also the creation of synergies with leading American and European institutions.

The distribution of matter within the Universe is defined by a complex multi-scale inter-connected network of filaments known as the cosmic web, with galaxy clusters (i.e., exceedingly dense regions) residing at its nodes. In the early universe (z>2), young forming clusters are observed as strong overdensities of gas-rich dusty starburst galaxies, becoming for a short time the dominant contribution to the star formation rate density before rapidly transitioning towards the massive quiescent population that dominates mature clusters only a few Gyrs later. However, the accompanying large amounts of dust (a byproduct of star formation) heavily obscure such transformative processes, challenging optical observations even with the HST and preventing us from obtaining an unambiguous view of stellar mass growth in early dense environments. The JADES project will overcome such obstacles for the first time by disentangling the star-forming and dust components using deep and high-resolution observations in the rest-frame NIR and (sub-)millimeter regime traced by approved JWST and already available ALMA programs in the legacy Spiderweb protocluster field at z=2.16. In particular, JADES will be the first to establish a full census of star-formation activities (obscured and unobscured) by using the dust-free Paβ star formation indicator (JWST) across the large-scale structure of this protocluster. JADES will also trace the distribution of dust-obscured star-forming regions within previously identified Subaru Hα emitters by making use of their Paβ/Hα ratio (Balmer decrement), and it will map and weight the dust and molecular gas content within individual objects (ALMA) establishing a direct comparison between the star-forming and dusty regions. Altogether, JADES will transform this field into the benchmark of environmental studies, becoming the cornerstone of present and future numerical simulations investigating the formation of structure and mass build-up at this cosmic epoch.

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.

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.