Research Summary

Stars form in dense cores within molecular clouds. All the ingredients that will build-up a planet are present already at this stage, from organic molecules that will build prebiotic material, to the solid that will form the refractory part of the planet.

Molecules are unique tracers of the different phases in the formation of stars and planetary systems, and hence provide the chemical link to understand the emergence of life on Earth.

Using molecular spectroscopy in the laboratory and in space, I will follow the chemical link of our astrochemical origins by:
– studying with unprecedented details the physical structure of starless and pre-stellar cores.
– using data-science/machine learning tools to study the chemical structure of starless, pre-stellar, and protostellar cores.
– using state of the art laboratory experiments to provide high-resolution spectroscopic data for characterizing the chemical budget in all stages of the formation of stars and planetary systems, from starless cores to exoplanetary atmospheres.

My research will provide a crucial advancement to our current understanding of star and planetary systems formation because it will constrain: i. the chemical budget inherited in the different stages and ii. the physics of the gravitational collapse that forms a protostar, its protoplanetary disk, and planets, and hence will allow the community to unveil our astrochemical origins.