Observations

By studying the molecular emissions from dense, low-mass cores within filaments—the birthplaces of planetary systems like ours—researchers at CAS investigate the chemical and physical structures of these star-forming environments. This approach provides crucial insights into our astrochemical heritage and fundamental mechanisms at the dawn of star and planet formation.

The CAS team is uncovering the earliest stages of star formation by studying the physical and chemical processes that shape dense cores — the cradles of new stars. 

We explore how disks around young stars form and evolve — the birthplaces of planets. Using powerful interferometers like NOEMA and ALMA, our team studies gas and dust on scales of just a few to hundreds of astronomical units. Our research has revealed new links between gas infall and chemical diversity, connections between young and mature disks, and unexpected thermal structures caused by shocks. We’ve also found evidence that planet formation begins much earlier than once believed. These insights are reshaping our understanding of how stars and planets take shape, and we’re continuing to push the boundaries with next-generation observatories.

High-mass stars (M > 8 Msun) play a key role in the energetic budget of the interstellar medium, especially during the last stages of their evolution, when they explode as supernovae. They are rare and short-lived, if compared to low-mass counterparts, and as a consequence on average they are found more distant from the Solar System. They form in dense and crowded environments, known  as infrared dark clouds (IRDCs), heavily obscured by dust extinction. As a result, observational studies of the initial stages of high-mass star formation are challenging. In the CAS group, we exploit state-of-the-art interferometric facilities, such the Atacama Large Millimeter and sub-millimeter Array (ALMA), to characterize the physical properties of these regions. more