The bi-annual interactive seminars of the Platform for Postcolonial Readings are all about sharing our enthusiasm about our field of research and our eagerness to learn more about its theoretical intricacies. Our seminars, although informal, adopt a well-defined format. Each meeting is organized around…

Galaxies form and evolve through close interaction with their surroundings. As a result, the heavy elements ('metals') that are synthesized in stars, are found both inside and outside galaxies.

Within the field of astronomy, understanding how galaxies grow and evolve from the Big Bang to the present day is a challenging and complex question.

Please find below information regarding oral and poster presentations.

Multiple stars, that is two or more stars composing a gravitationally bound system, are common in the universe.

This thesis discusses the physical and chemical processes than influence the composition of forming planets.

This thesis investigates how galaxies form and what diversifies the evolutionary histories of galaxies.

High-angular-resolution observations of the circumstellar material have uncovered numerous and very diverse substructures in protoplanetary discs, raising the question of whether they are caused by forming planets or other mechanisms.

One of the key quests in astronomy is to study the growth and evolution of galaxies across cosmic time. Radio observations provide a powerful means of studying the formation of stars and subsequent buildup of distant galaxies, in a way that is unbiased by the presence of dust.

To address the fundamental questions of how life on Earth emerged and how common life may be in the Universe, it is crucial to know the chemical composition of the planet-forming material.

Some species of proteins which can form liquid-like condensates, also exhibit growth into fibers (or fibrils). One particularly interesting set of such proteins are those that are associated with neurodegeneration in which the fiber growth may be related to the pathological fibrils observed in disea…

Promotores: Prof.dr. J. Schaye, Prof.dr. S.D.M. White (MPA Garching)

Promotor: J. Schaye

Promotor: Prof.dr. E.F. van Dishoeck, Co-promotor: S. Bruderer

The focus of this thesis is how stars like our Sun and planets like Jupiter, Saturn, and Earth are formed.

What is the origin of solar systems?

Navarro Paredes

A new book, Learning to Play: Learning Reinforcement and Games by Aske Plaat is now available.

At Leiden Observatory, researchers investigate the origin of stars and their planetary systems. They detect and characterize planets around other stars (exoplanets). They study how stars and planets form. And they follow molecules from interstellar clouds to nascent planet systems. This way they address…

At Leiden Observatory, researchers investigate the origin of stars and their planetary systems. They detect and characterize planets around other stars, which are called exo-planets. They study how stars and planets form. And they follow molecules from interstellar clouds to nascent planet systems.…

Promotor: Prof.dr. E. F. van Dishoeck, Co-promotor: A. N. Heays

The formation of stars and planets happens over multiple scales, which can interact. In particular, planet formation happens in the dense, complex environment of star forming regions.

People in Asia increasingly feel the need for a strong identity. This is the consequence of developments such as globalisation and the realisation that Asian countries such as China and India are becoming new world powers. Professor Hilde De Weerdt studies how political ideas and national identity spread…

Politically speaking, the Frisian coastal area constitutes a special case in late medieval Europe since it was not subject to an overlord as it withstood feudalization in the 13th century. Its many sub regions, which were dominated by elites of small noblemen and freeholders, long time succeeded in…

The FOI project has a number of topics it aims to investigate. These are: State, Economy, Culture and Papyri. You will find links to bibliographies on this page.

Promotor: Roeland M.H. Merks

Lecture, LUCL Colloquium - Series '24/'25

In his groundbreaking Imagined Communities, first published in 1983, Benedict Anderson argued that members of a community experience a

How did galaxies form? How did galaxies evolve?

Promotor: G.P. van Wezel

How do macrophages and neutrophils contribute to metastatic onset?

In the BNR Newsradioprogram De Nieuwe Wereld, professors Aske Plaat (Data Science) and Catholijn Jonker (Explainable AI) of the computer science institute of Leiden University discuss about decisions made by computers. From self-driving cars to intelligent soap pumps: should we be able to follow the…

Thanks to deep learning, computer program AlphaZero plays better chess than the best person. The computer wins because it can predict further ahead than a human being through pattern recognition. Aske Plaat discusses this special development in Dutch newspaper NRC. He expects the major tech companies…

What holds people together and what makes them willing to fit within larger political structures? Our project examines this question in the practices of dynastic rulership in Eurasia ca. 1300-1800.

Why do communities form militias to defend themselves against violence during civil war? Using original interviews with former combatants and civilians and archival material from extensive fieldwork in Mozambique, Corinna Jentzsch (Leiden University Institute of Political Science) explains the timing,…

Promotor: Prof.dr. E.F. van Dishoeck, Prof.dr. F.F.S. van der Tak (RUG)

By examining the impact of Islam on the daily life of those living under its rule, the goal of this project is to understand the striking newness of Islamic society and its debt to the diverse cultures it superseded. Questions will be the extent, character, and ambition of Muslim state competency at…

The solar system was formed approximately 4.56 billion years ago. Despite the numerous theories that have been developed over the years, the formation and evolution of the solar system still remain unclear.

We report new computational and experimental evidence of an efficient and astrochemically relevant formation route to formaldehyde (H2CO). This simplest carbonylic compound is central to the formation of complex organics in cold interstellar clouds and is generally regarded to be formed by the hydrogenation…

Aristocratic dynasties have long been regarded as fundamental to the development of early modern society and government. Yet recent work by political historians has increasingly questioned the dominant role of ruling families in state formation, underlining instead the continued importance and independence…

Carbon dioxide capture and utilization technologies are necessary to create a truly circular economy. The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to formate is an appealing carbon utilization method as it can be performed at room temperature and pressure, it only requires two electrons, and it has…

Protein–protein complexes are formed via transient states called encounter complexes that greatly influence the formation of the stereospecific complex.

Promotores: Prof.dr. M. Franx & Prof.dr. P.G. van Dokkum (Yale University)

In this book, Lydie Cabane examines the history of disaster management in South Africa.

Large areas of space are filled by molecular clouds that consist of gas and dust grains that are the remnants of dead stars. When these clouds start collapsing, the decreasing temperature and increasing density cause gas particles to start accreting onto dust grain surfaces.

A dense region of a gaseous and dusty cloud collapses to form a protostar surrounded by a disk and an envelope. This thesis uses both observations and models to study physical and chemical conditions of these protostellar systems which are likely where planets start to form.

Detecting planets during their formation stages is crucial for understanding the history and diversity of fully developed planetary systems like our own. However, observing young planets directly is challenging because they are often deeply embedded within their host protoplanetary discs, rich in gas…

The origin and evolution of galaxies are closely tied to the cyclic feedback processes between stars and the interstellar medium (ISM).