We are an interactive group of observers, theoreticians and laboratory experimental researchers, with strong links to other national and international Institutes. Our aim is to study interstellar clouds and their physical/chemical evolution toward the formation of stars and planetary systems. On the one hand, molecular lines are used as tools to unveil the physical structure and dynamics of clouds and star/planet forming regions. On the other hand, observational and theoretical studies of molecules during cloud evolution allow us to investigate the increase in chemical complexity from the initial diffuse stages, to the dense cloud cores within which stellar systems form, to the circumstellar disks where planets are assembled, with the final aim of shedding light on our cosmic origins (cf. the Figure at the end of this section). We observe molecular lines with state-of-the-art telescopes (such as ALMA and the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer /
NOEMA) and we make predictions using comprehensive chemical models inclusive of surface chemistry (i.e. the chemistry occurring on the surface of dust grain particles). Furthermore, we use magneto- and hydrodynamic codes coupled with simple chemistry, and apply advanced theoretical methods of the kinetic theory and plasma physics to understand penetration of Galactic cosmic rays into dense molecular gas. The CAS spectroscopy laboratories focus on the high-resolution spectroscopy of molecules of astrophysical relevance in the gas and solid phase (i.e. interstellar ice analogs), as well as on collisional dynamics and ion-molecule interactions. Laboratory experiments provide a fundamental input to our observational and theoretical activities, as transition frequencies are measured with high precision and the molecular structure determined.
We offer PhD thesis in the following areas:
- Theory: Cosmic rays in molecular clouds.
- Laboratory: The path to molecular complexity in star-forming regions - a laboratory approach