Colloquium: Setting the sails for CMB spectral distortions

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CMB spectral distortions provide a unique probe of physical processes occurring in the early Universe. Our understanding of how distortion signals are created and what they can tell us about fundamental physics has greatly improved over the past years.

In this talk, I will highlight some of the latest developments on the theoretical and experimental frontiers, trying to convince you that the time is ripe for opening a new window into the early Universe and particle physics with CMB spectrometers. I will also describe some of the important steps that are ahead in paving the path towards measuring CMB spectral distortions in the ESA Voyage 2050 program.