The Vera Rubin Observatory (VRO) will be fully operational for a ten-year survey commencing in 2025. It is expected to detect many new objects, particularly in the outer Solar System, which are too faint and distant to have been observed by previous surveys. Among the most exciting prospects for discovery are interstellar objects and distant …
Exploring the Outer Solar System: The New Frontier with LSST Read More »
Comets serve as remarkable remnants of the primordial protoplanetary disk, offering invaluable insights into the origins of our Solar System, planetary formation, and the emergence of life on Earth. Of particular interest in comet studies is the cometary dust, which represents the most pristine material available for the investigation of the protoplanetary disk. We aim …
We use precision radial-velocity instruments in Chile to uncover the first Jupiter-analogues orbiting metal-rich stars. The key to our project is the combination with space-based astrometric measurements taken by Hipparcos and Gaia, whereby we are developing statistical models that can search the parameter space using a joint model to not only detect these planets, but …
Laboratory studies of cosmic dust are urgently needed for the modeling of protoplanetary disk observations. By studying samples of meteorites’ properties at infrared and (sub)millimeter wavelengths, this thesis aims to improve the dust opacity libraries currently available to study protoplanetary disks. This PhD thesis is divided into four projects that include laboratory measurements and applications …
We aim to contribute to the understanding of disk evolution and planet formation, linking them through the study of the first stages of a binary disk undergoing a particular stage (episodic accretion event) and to the study of a young stellar binary system composed by a giant star and a brown dwarf. In the first …
A millimeter and near-IR study of YSOs: From outbursting protostars to exomoons Read More »
This PhD thesis project are based on the study of objects located in Ophiuchus, the molecular cloud with the largest population of YSOs within 150 pc of the Sun. The studies are also part of follow-ups of the “Ophiuchus DIsk Survey Employing ALMA” (ODISEA,PID= 2016.1.00545.S) project (Cieza et al., 2019; Williams et al., 2019; Zurlo …
Distant comets are recently discovered comets that show activity (coma and/or tail) well beyond the water sublimation limit at 5 au. These objects provide unprecedented opportunity to connect observed cometary properties to conditions in the pre-solar nebula and subsequent evolution. We propose to conduct a systematic survey of the newly discovered, highly unusual comets. Type …
Collaboration between UDP and the astronomy group of Prof. Gregory Herczeg at the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Peking. The project focuses on collaboration with PhD students in both institutions and has two research lines, FU Ori objects and disks around low-mass stars. Type of project: Research – actively recruiting new …
UDP- KIAA collaboration on Young Stellar Objects in nearby molecular clouds Read More »
An extension of the ODISEA survey to Band-4 and Band-8 to investigate disk sizes, and substructures, and derive benchmark disk properties (masses, surface densities, and grain size distributions from multi-frequency analysis of disks in Ophiuchus). Type of project: Research – actively recruiting new young researchersStatus: OngoingResearchers: Lucas Cieza, Prachi Chavan, Trisha Bhowmik, Grace Batalla, Pedro …
The Ophiuchus Disk Survey Employing ALMA (ODISEA): Band-4 and Band-8 extension Read More »
The project aims at discovering natural satellites around high-contrast imaging planets. This is the first group trying to detect satellites via direct methods. We are using both the direct imaging technique and the radial velocity technique. We are using data from the best available imagers, such as SPHERE, NIRC2, NACO, WFC3, etc. We also have …