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This thesis treats the topic of CMB Spectral Distortions (SDs), whichrepresent any deviation from a pure black body shape of the CMB energyspectrum. As such, they can be used to probe the inflationary, expansion andthermal evolution of the universe both within $\Lambda$CDM and beyond it. Thecurrently missing observation of this rich probe of the universe makes of it anideal target for future observational campaigns. In fact, while the$\Lambda$CDM signal guarantees a discovery, the sensitivity to a wide varietyof new physics opens the door to an enormous uncharted territory. In light ofthese considerations, the thesis opens by reviewing the topic of CMB SDs in apedagogical and illustrative fashion, aimed at waking the interest of thebroader community. This introductory premise sets the stage for the first maincontribution of the thesis to the field of SDs: their implementation in theBoltzmann solver CLASS and the parameter inference code MontePython. TheCLASS+MontePython pipeline is publicly available, fast, it includes all sourcesof SDs within $\Lambda$CDM and many others beyond that, and allows toconsistently account for any observational setup. By means of these numericaltools, the second main contribution of the thesis consists in showcasing theversatility and competitiveness of SDs for several cosmological models as wellas for a number of different mission designs. Among others, the results coverfeatures in the primordial power spectrum, primordial gravitational waves,non-standard dark matter properties, primordial black holes, primordialmagnetic fields and Hubble tension. Finally, the manuscript is disseminatedwith (20) follow-up ideas that naturally extend the work carried out so far,highlighting how rich of unexplored possibilities the field of CMB SDs stillis. The hope is that these suggestions will become a propeller for furtherinteresting developments.

The future of cosmology? A case for CMB spectral distortions