Homepage Harold Linnartz

Welcome to the homepage of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler laboratory for astrophysics at Leiden Observatory.


LATEST NEWS:

- Edith Fayolle wins first posterprize during IAU280 Toledo meeting




VACANCIES - CHECK HERE

In the Sackler Laboratory for Astrophysics the circumstances in the inter- and circumstellar medium are simulated. Physical and chemical processes of astronomical relevance are studied and characterized using state-of-the-art experiments. Interstellar clouds are simulated with special plasma expansions and chemical reactions on icy dust grains are measured in ultra-high vacuum setups. This provides the data necessary to guide and interpret astronomical observations and to model reaction networks in space.

In the last years we have been able to make water on icy dust grains upon H-atom bombardment, we understand now how complex molecules form under the extreme conditions that are typical for space, and experiments are ongoing that investigate under which conditions the building blocks of life form. The picture shows our newest setup - MATRI2CES - that has been constructed with the aim to 'unlock the chemistry of the heavens'.

Harold Linnartz