Dr. Silvia Spezzano
Bio
Dr. Silvia Spezzano leads a Max Planck Independent Research Group at MPE since November 2020.
She received her PhD at the University of Cologne in 2013 with the Thesis "Rotational spectroscopy of elusive molecules in the laboratory and in space", and was a Minerva Fast-Track fellow at MPE from 2017 to 2020.
Research Interest
- Astrochemistry
- Star-formation
- Gas-phase molecular spectroscopy
Group members
- Dr. Hayley Bunn, postdoc (2022-2024)
- Katharina Giers, PhD student (2021-present)
- Dr. Sigurd S. Jensen, postdoc (2021-present)
- Dr. Yuxin Lin, postdoc (2021-2024)
- Laura Schöller, PhD student (2024-present)
- Dr. Himanshi Singh, postdoc (2025-present)
Hayley uses laboratory molecular spectroscopy to provide accurate spectral information of various molecules for their identification and characterisation focussing on two stages of planet formation, the interstellar medium (ISM) and exoplanetary atmospheres. She provides accurate spectral frequencies of complex organic molecules (COMs) using millimeter/submillimeter spectroscopy required for their detection in the ISM. In particular, she focuses on the deuterated isotopologues of COMs, that are then used to trace the evolution of material in the star and planet formation process. In addition, Hayley uses high resolution infrared spectroscopy to provide accurate pressure broadening and temperature coefficients as well as providing high temperature spectral frequencies, all of which are necessary to correctly characterise the composition and abundances of exoplanetary atmospheres.
Bunn, Spezzano, et al. (2025)
Laboratory Rotational Spectroscopy Leads to the First Interstellar Detection of Singly Deuterated Methyl Mercaptan (CH2DSH) link
Katharina studies the physical and chemical processes happening in starless, pre-stellar, and protostellar cores. To achieve this, she analyses the distribution of molecules across the cores, using molecular emission lines and emission maps observed with single-dish radio telescopes. The goal of her studies is to understand the formation, inheritance, and evolution of different molecules along the star formation process. To link the chemical processes to physical parameters of the sources, she builds detailed physical models of them, applying data from the Herschel Space Observatory. With radiative transfer modelling, the physical structures are then used to reproduce the observed molecules. During her PhD, she will study the molecular complexity and chemical differentiation of different sources by applying machine learning techniques (e.g. unsupervised clustering), to find correlations among different molecules and the influence of the environment on the chemistry.
Giers, Spezzano, et al. (2022)
Deuteration of c-C3H2 towards the pre-stellar core L1544 link
Giers, Spezzano, et al. (2023)
Similar levels of deuteration in the pre-stellar core L1544 and the protostellar core HH211 link
Giers, Spezzano, et al. (2025)
Chemical segregation analysed with unsupervised clustering link
Sigurd develops and studies 3D physico-chemical models of pre-stellar cores in order to understand both the physical and chemical structure of the cores. A central theme of his research is to uncover how the surrounding molecular cloud environment impacts the chemistry of pre-stellar cores and to what degree chemical signatures are inherited by the later stages of star- and planet formation. Sigurd also uses single-dish radio observatories to study the molecular composition of pre-stellar cores and compare with the modelled results to maintain a strong link between the theoretical and empirical work.
Jensen, Spezzano, et al. (2023)
3D physico-chemical model of a pre-stellar core: I. Environmental and structural impact on the distribution of CH3OH and c–C3H2 link
Jensen, Spezzano, et al. (2024)
Fractionation in young cores: Direct determinations of nitrogen and carbon fractionation in HCN link
Yuxin works on molecular cloud structures of high-mass and low-mass star forming regions and analyses their physical and chemical structures with observations from both single-dish and interferometers. Specifically, with various molecular lines as well as with multi-wavelength dust emission, she is interested in revealing the thermal properties, density structures, gas kinematics and chemical composition with the aid of radiative transfer calculation. In particular, she is interested in the molecules that are chemically relevant, which can be used to pinpoint the evolutionary stages, and in turn to advance our understanding of the complex chemical pathways in the interstellar environment.
Lin, Spezzano et al. (2022)
Multiline observations of CH3OH, c-C3H2, and HNCO toward L1544. Dissecting the core structure with chemical differentiation link
Lin, Spezzano, and Caselli (2023a)
First detection of CHD2OH towards pre-stellar cores
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/2023/01/aa45524-22.pdf
Lin, Spezzano, et al. (2023b)
Initial conditions of star formation at ≲2000 au: Physical structure and NH3 depletion of three early-stage cores link
Lin, Adachi, Spezzano, et al. (2025)
BASIL: Fast broadband line-rich spectral-cube fitting and image visualization via Bayesian quadrature link
Himanshi is a laboratory spectroscopist and uses high-resolution infrared spectroscopy to provide accurate pressure broadening coefficients necessary to correctly characterise the composition and abundances of exoplanetary atmospheres.
Laura’s PhD is a multidisciplinary approach towards the understanding of sulfur chemistry in star-forming regions and exoplanetary atmospheres. Laura studies the development of sulfur chemistry in starless cores using single-dish radioastronomical observations and astrochemical models. She also studies the pressure broadening of sulfur-bearing molecules of interest for exoplanetary atmospheres.