Coffee Chat

Brett and Ken Kellerman

The Grab & GO

1. Modeling the emission spectra of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by recurrent fluorescence

Borja et al. arXiv
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.02173    

2. Directed Gas-Phase Formation of the 1-Cyanovinyl Radical (H2CCCN, X2A′) in the Interstellar Medium

Goettl et al. JPCA
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpca.5c07260      

3. Identification of solid N2O in interstellar ices using open JWST data

Karteyeva et al. arXiv (A&A)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.03705    

4. Binding Energies of Interstellar Complex Organic Molecules on Water Ice Surfaces: A Quantum Chemical Investigation

Kakkar et al. ApJ
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae064a        

5. Methanol Formation via the Radical-radical Reaction of OH and CH3 Radicals Undergoing Transient Diffusion on Ice at 10 to 60 K

Iguchi et al. arXiv
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.05757     

6. Functionalization of Benzene Ices by Atomic Oxygen

Piacentino et al. arXiv
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.07457         

7. Expanding the C3H6O2 Isomeric Interstellar Inventory: Discovery of Lactaldehyde and Methoxyacetaldehyde in G+0.693-0.027

Sanz-Novo et al. arXiv (A&A)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.07365
  

8. HOPS-288: A Laboratory for Complex Organics in Proto-multiple Systems

Hsu et al. arXiv
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.08948          

9. New Estimate for the Cosmic Ray-Induced H2 Photodissociation Rate in the Interstellar Medium

Sipila et al. arXiv (ACS E&SC)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.09387            

10. Circumplanetary Disk Candidate in the Disk of HD 163296 Traced by Localized Emission from Simple Organics

Izquierdo et al. arXiv (ApJL)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.10631        

Single-Origin Percolated Brew

Brett McGuire and Rebecca Charbonneau

Check out Rebecca's Book!  Mixed Signals: Alien Communication Across the Iron Curtain

Chalkboard

• Upcoming Meetings

• • There is a session "The Icy Universe Revealed by JWST" sponsored by the American Chemical Society Astrochemistry subdivision at the spring meeting in Atlanta, GA March 22-26, 2026.  Abstract submission has already passed, but registration is open for some time, yet.
    
    

  • There is a conference, Exploring the Aromatic Universe in the JWST Era, to be held July 6-10 in London, Ontario. This symposium will bring together experts from observational astronomy, laboratory astrophysics, theoretical modeling, and quantum chemistry to explore the latest discoveries and future frontiers in PAH and fullerene research. With a special emphasis on extragalactic PAH studies, participants will discuss how new observational capabilities (e.g., JWST, SPHEREx) and cutting-edge theoretical and experimental approaches can expand our understanding of these key interstellar species.  https://www.aromaticuniverse.space/
    
    

  • There will be many astrochemistry sessions at the International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy June 22-26 in Champaign-Urbana, IL.  Abstract submission will open in February with a deadline at the beginning of March.
    
    

  • There will be a session at COSPAR 2026 entitled: “Interstellar Chemistry, Interstellar Origins: Observations, Experiments, Models and Theory of the Molecular Evolution of the Universe.”  COSPAR will be August 1-9 in Florence, Italy.
    
    

  • It looks like the 2026 European Conference on Laboratory Astrophysics will be held 21-25 September, 2026, in Heidelberg.
    
    

  • Save the date for “Cosmic rays 4: The salt of the star formation recipe” October 5-9 in Pisa, Italy.

• Job Opportunities
  
  

  • PhD position in computational astrochemistry at University College Dublin.  They invite applications for a PhD position in computational astrochemistry at the School of Physics at University College Dublin, Ireland. You will work with Dr Marie Van de Sande on the ERC Starting Grant ASHES on dust formation in the outflows of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. 

Most stars will go through an AGB phase near the end of their lives, losing their outer layers by means of a stellar outflow and enriching the interstellar medium (ISM) with the building blocks for the next generation of stars and planets. This outflow is driven by dust formation. Despite the importance of dust, we still do not know exactly how it is formed. 

You will extend a large chemical reaction network to include dust nucleation, using the results of quantum chemical calculations, and calculate the first 1D bottom-up dust growth models. As a next step, you will create 3D chemical models by post-processing hydrodynamical models, helping to close the gap between theory and observations. As part of the ERC Starting Grant ASHES, there are ample opportunities for attending conferences, workshops, and research stays. 

This project would be suitable for a student with a degree in chemistry, physics or astronomy who wants to build on their skills in coding (python and Fortran), data analysis and visualisation, and would like to work in chemical kinetics modelling. 

Application instructions

Applications should include a CV (including personal data, education, skills, and expertise), a one-page motivation letter, and the names and contact details of two references. Please send the documents to mvdsande@strw.leidenuniv.nl before 15 March 2026.