Seminars and Colloquia at ESO Santiago

The Galactic Centre G+0.693-0.027 molecular cloud, located within the giant Sgr B2 complex, stands as one of the richest reservoirs of complex organic molecules (COMs) in the interstellar medium. Over the past decade, very deep single-dish surveys reaching sub-mK noise levels have revealed more than a hundred species towards this source, including unique detections of several prebiotically relevant molecules. However, to further explore the origin of its chemical richness and uncover the chemical links between the detected COMs and prebiotic species beyond relative abundances, high-angular-resolution observations with comparable sensitivity are essential. In this talk, I will present the first ALMA observations ever conducted towards G+0.693 in Band 1, representing one of the deepest integrations performed by ALMA in the Galactic Centre to date. During my four-month stay at the JAO, I have been developing the analysis framework for this dataset, ranging from data inspection and re-imaging to its spectral exploration. I will introduce the scientific context of the project and provide an overview of the work carried out during my visit.

The weakness of the hyperfine 21cm line, the main tracer of the atomic gas content of galaxies, has meant that we know little about the HI mass of high-redshift galaxies and its evolution. This has long been one of the biggest lacunae in our understanding of galaxy evolution. ``Stacking'' of the 21cm emission signals from a large sample of high-redshift galaxies, with known optical positions and redshifs and observed simultaneously with a radio interferometer, can allow one to determine the atomic gas properties of the galaxy population. The advent of new or upgraded radio interferometers, with wideband spectral capabilities and modern correlators, has recently yielded dramatic progress in this field. In this talk, I will describe the state of the art in such 21cm stacking experiments from deep studies with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope that have yielded the first measurements of the atomic gas properties of star-forming galaxies during the era of cosmic noon.

You can do the best science in the world, but if you don’t communicate your work well the reach of your results will be limited. In this lecture I will discuss various approaches you can try to maintain audience focus and convey your work efficiently, focusing on talks and poster presentations.

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Gamma-ray bursts fascinate astronomers both for their astounding power and for their effectiveness as cosmological probes. Spectroscopy of their bright optical counterparts allows to dissect the interstellar and circumgalactic medium of high-redshift star-forming galaxies, testing their gas, metals, dust, and molecular content. At the same time, also thanks to a new suite of instruments, we have been discovering a richer diversity of progenitor systems - with the two main players being collapsing massive stars and binary compact object mergers. I will highlight the recent progress and surprises in the field achieved via the "Stargate" program at the VLT.

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