We live in a wonderful era for expanding our understanding of the lifecycle of interstellar material and the role of molecules therein. New powerful facilities such as ALMA, NOEMA, JWST and SPICA/ORIGINS are opening up a new window to the Universe, allowing astronomers to peer into a variety of astronomical environments - from molecular factories like evolved stars to the diffuse interstellar medium and regions of star and planet formations - in our Galaxy at incredible spatial and spectral resolutions. Close collaboration between observational astronomers, modelers, theoreticians and experimentalists is a conditio sine qua non to fully exploit this treasure trove of data.

In this special session we will focus on the study of molecules and their isotopologues and what they can teach us about the journey of molecules in our Galaxy. The goals of this special session is to bring the community together to showcase molecular insights in the evolution of matter from old stars to newly formed planets, to highlight recent advances in molecular astrophysics, to design strategies to best exploit the new astronomical facilities, and to provide fertile ground for future, interdisciplinary collaborations.

Programme

• Molecules & Stellar Ejecta
• The molecular ISM & Star Formation
• Molecules & Protoplanetary Disks (and exoplanets)

Invited speakers

• Leen Decin (KULeuven, Belgium)
• Paola Caselli (Centre for Astrochemical Studies - MPIE, Germany)
• Catherine Walsh (University of Leeds, UK)

Scientific organisers

• Alessandra Candian (chair) (University of Amsterdam, NL)
• Annemieke Petrignani (University of Amsterdam, NL)
• Marie Van de Sande (KULeuven, Belgium)
• Serena Viti ( UCL, UK / Leiden Observatory, NL)
• Tom Millar (Queen's University Belfast, UK)
• Francesco Fontani (INAF - Arcetri, Italy)

Contact

For information and/or any question: a.candian @ uva.nl