Research

Protoplanetary disks (PPDs) are vast, rotating structures of gas and dust that surround young stars during the earliest stages of their formation. They provide the raw material from which planets, moons, asteroids, and comets eventually emerge. Typical disks consist mainly of hydrogen and helium, with a small but crucial fraction of dust grains that can grow from submicron sizes into pebbles, planetesimals, and ultimately planetary bodies. Studying these disks allows us to trace the very first steps in the journey from interstellar clouds to planetary systems like our own.Our group investigates how gas and dust co-evolve during the initial phases of disk formation and how this evolution shapes the conditions for planet formation. Using our own 3D hydrodynamics code we follow the collapse of prestellar cloud cores into young stars and disks, capturing dust growth, pebble formation, and the influence of turbulence and spiral structures on dust dynamics. We also have our own 2D thin-disk hydrodynamics code to simulate the long-term co-evolution of gas, dust, and volatiles in disks.

Circumstellar debris discs are optically thin collections of solid material, ranging from large planetesimals to fine dust grains. The lifetime of dust in these discs is much shorter than the age of the discs themselves, indicating a non-primordial origin. Instead, the dust is continuously replenished by collisions between planetesimals, where large bodies are broken down into smaller fragments, eventually producing micron-sized dust grains. These gas-poor discs are the evolutionary successors of protoplanetary discs and studying them provides a valuable window into the processes involved in planet formation.

The atmospheres of planets come in a wide array of sizes and chemical compositions. From close-in Hot Jupiters to Earth-like rocky planets, the different environments can lead to vastly different types of atmospheres. How these atmospheres come about or are lost is can give us glimpses into the environment of exoplanets and possible habitability. They are also coupled to planetary formation and evolution in general, therefore studying atmospheres is essential for understading these processes as well.

New data is crucial in furthering our understanding of the Universe. This is why the group is also involved in several space missions (JWST-MIRI, PLATO, Ariel) and ground based observatories (MARVEL, ELT-METIS). Participating in the development of future instruments and tools for these instruments ensures that these missions and observatories will be designed for the best possible scientific results.