ESR 14

Thesis title: Modelling the molecular shocks induced chemistry.

Supervisor: Prof. S. Viti (University College of London)

Recruitment Institution: University College of London, UK

Doctoral School: University College of London, UK

Mobility: The ESR will spend 6 months at University of Grenoble Alpes - IPAG, France, under the supervision of Dr. B. Lefloch.

Eligibility: European and non-European students who not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, ect.) in United Kingdom for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the recruitment date.

Thesis description:

Low-mass protostars drive fast jets during the earliest stages of their evolution. The collision between these jets and the protostar's parent cloud is supersonic, producing shock fronts of warm, dense gas. This in turn drives processes that greatly increase the chemical complexity and changes the physics of the interstellar medium.

We can trace such changes by looking at the many molecular species that are enhanced by the passage of the shock. Studying these molecules in star forming regions is a powerful tool for the understanding of shocks and their impact on the environment. This PhD project focuses on the developments of chemical and physical models of shocks and on the modelling of state-of-the-art interferometric and single dish submillimeter data of various molecules in a sample of outflows with the aim of determining the physical characteristics of these outflows.

The thesis is part of the ACO network, whose ultimate goal is to reconstruct the early history of the Solar System by comparing presently forming solar-type planetary systems with its small bodies. The comparison will be based on the most advanced astrochemical knowledge, which will be developed by the interdisciplinary ACO team.