A century ago, it was unclear whether the stars in the sky were clustered in groups, or widely spread in the universe.

Promotor: M. de Jong, Co-Promotor: Samtleben

For centuries astronomers studied the Universe by collecting light. Nowadays, we are living in times of great technological advancements, which allow us to explore our Universe in a new way - though gravitational wave radiation.

Promotor: W. Jaffe, Co-promotor: K. Meisenheimer

One of the key limitations of the direct imaging of exoplanets at small angular separations are quasi-static speckles that originate from evolving non-common path aberrations (NCPA) to which the primary adaptive optics system is inherently blind. The main focus of this thesis is the development and…

Galaxies are environments where gas coalesces, cools, and is converted into stars. However, it remains unclear the exact mechanisms through which galaxies acquire, redistribute and lose their gas.

Promotor: Prof.dr. H. J. A. Röttgering, Co-Promotor: Dr. M. Haverkorn

Promotor: H.J.A. Röttgering, Co-promotor: M. Haverkorn

The high velocity tail of the total velocity distribution of stars provides essential insight into fundamental properties of the Galaxy.

Leiden University is currently working on the new Gorlaeus Building, a sustainable modern building for the Faculty of Science. To make room for the phase 2A construction work, a plane tree of over 20 metres in height was moved on 17 December. The tree has been conserved. Its new home will be on the…

Eleven Leiden researchers have been awarded a Veni grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The grant will enable them to develop their research ideas for a period of three years.

Rossi

PhD Defence

PhD Defence

This thesis presents pioneering work on the panchromatic emission of some of the most luminous galaxies in the early Universe: star forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei.

We investigate the buildup of galaxies from various vantage points. The first two chapters focus on the stellar content of galaxies, especially the distribution of stellar masses at birth and potential variations therein in various galactic environments.

When observing star-forming galaxies, we are not only seeing stellar light, but we also see how this interacts with galactic gas and dust. This thesis contains studies of the stellar, nebular and dust properties of low mass star-forming galaxies.

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

PhD Defence

These are the staff members of the Leiden - Latin America and the Caribbean Centre

In this thesis integral points on affine del Pezzo surfaces are studied.

Advanced sensing techniques require graphene with high quality and well-controlled surface chemistry.

This thesis describes the development and validation of new high-contrast imaging techniques, with the ultimate goal of enabling the next generation of instruments for ELT-class telescopes to directly image Earth-like extra-solar planets orbiting around nearby stars.

The SAPPAO project aims to optimise the accuracy and reliability of predicting scheduled flight times. The full name of the project is 'A Systems Approach towards Data Mining and Prediction in Airlines Operations'.

In this Thesis, novel charge induction mechanisms of ionic liquids are treated, tested and experimented on complex oxides, in particular cuprates.

Of all the mass in our Universe, 80% is thought to consist of a hypothetical and invisible substance called dark matter (DM).

Promotor: J.S. Kaastra Co-promotor: E. Constantini

When a star gets too close to a supermassive black hole, it is torn apart by strong tidal forces in a tidal disruption event (TDE).

These are the proposed research projects for LEAPS 2019. Please note that not all projects will go ahead and some may still be added in the near future. Final funding decisions lie with the Faculty sponsors. And please make a note that if you are interested in an ESA project, to check if your state…

Researchers at Leiden Observatory study the fundamental physics that creates structure in the Universe. These processes collect matter into galaxies and gas into stars. With the use of powerful telescopes and advanced calculations and computer simulations, Leiden astronomers seek to understand the origin,…

Researchers at Leiden Observatory study the fundamental physics that creates structure in the Universe. These processes collect matter into galaxies and gas into stars. With the use of powerful telescopes and advanced calculations and computer simulations, Leiden astronomers seek to understand the origin,…

Arts and Culture

The thesis addresses the long-term dynamical evolution of hierarchical multiple systems.

In this thesis, the research focuses on the properties of dark matter and dark matter haloes and how they connect with the galaxies we can observe in the Universe.

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.

In this thesis, we present new laboratory data of interstellar dust analogues.

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.

PhD Defence

This reflection for Critical Studies on Terrorism, explores two decades of the 'War of Terror' and what it means today.

Mechanical forces are known to play an important role in bacterial colonies. In this dissertation, we study the self-organization at various stages of growing bacterial colonies, and focus on the mechanical effects of cell growth.

Promotor: J.W. van Holten

In this thesis, the focus lies on studying glucocorticoid receptor dynamics in living cells with the aim of understanding how this transcription factor finds its DNA target sites to regulate transcription.

This thesis is devoted to an in-depth examination of the various effects of disorder in the cuprate high-temperature superconductors.

Promotor: Christoph U. Keller, Co-promotores: Matthew A. Kenworthy, Frans Snik

Systems pharmacology aims to apply techniques from systems biology to pharmacological models.

The focus of our theoretical research is understanding the behaviour of soft condensed matter, physical matter which is deformed or structurally altered by thermal fluctuations or small stresses.

The next generation of high-contrast imaging instruments on space-based observatories requires sophisticated wavefront sensing and control in addition to a high-performance coronagraph.

Promotores: P. Stevenhagen, L. van Geemen (Università degli studi di Milano), Co-Supervisor: Ronald M. van Luijk

From the Big Bang to superconductivity. Many ground-breaking discoveries have been made in Leiden University’s long history.

The centre of our Galaxy is so dark and dense that it is almost impossible to observe what is inside. By catching the rare hypervelocity stars that are ejected from it, Elena Maria Rossi aims to unveil the mysterious environment around the supermassive black hole inside. But she’ll also be solving another…