Multi-wavelength studies of star forming regions

The group has strong expertise in X-ray observations of young stars. Prof. Marc Audard is a lead Co-I in the XMM-Newton survey of the Taurus Molecular Cloud (XEST), which produced more than 15 refereed publications and several proceedings papers. He is also a member of the Spitzer survey of the Taurus Molecular Cloud, and works in particular on the IRS spectra of Taurus members. The multi-wavelength coverage of the Taurus cloud allows us to study the impact of X-rays on the proto-planetary disks. Prof. Audard furthermore leads and participates in several projects on the X-ray emission of young stars. He also leads and participates in several infrared projects with Spitzer; for example, he leads the analysis of the Spitzer observations of the Herbig Be star R Mon and the associated Herbig-Haro object HH 39. He is also PI on 2 APEX SHFI Science Verification projects that has tested the capabilities of the new SHFI receivers and will help us to understand the properties of outflows in southern FU Orionis stars. The data further complement Spitzer IRS spectra of FU Orionis that have recently been observed in Cycle 5 (PI: Audard). These projects fall in the context of studies of circumstellar disks, jets, and outflows in young massive stars to study how such stars form and influence the surrounding material.

The "Disks around young stellar objects" group is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant No. PP002-110504). Prof. Marc Audard is recipient of a Swiss NSF Professorship with residence at the University of Geneva, in the Department of Astronomy. Dr. Audard moved from Columbia University in the City of New York and started in Geneva in September 2006. The main physical location of the group members is at the ISDC, a research center with focus interests in high-energy astrophysics. We also spend typically a day per week at the Geneva Observatory. Carla Baldovin Saavedra has started her PhD in the group in March 2007; Dr. Andrés Carmona has started his postdoctoral position in October 2007. Dr. Francesco Fontani has joined the group in July 2008 from the INAF Radiostronomy group in Bologna. He has now moved to an ALMA fellowship at IRAM, France.

An extension of the Swiss NSF Professorship grant was awarded for one additional year with funds for Audard, Carmona, and Baldovin-Saavedra.

Page maintained by Marc Audard (last change: November 5, 2010)