In de opleiding Taalwetenschap verdiep je je in alle aspecten van taal. Je onderzoekt de regels en structuur, bestudeert hoe we taal gebruiken en bekijkt hoe taal zich door de eeuwen heen heeft ontwikkeld. In deze bachelor leer je veel vaardigheden die zowel in het academische als in het dagelijkse…

Stars and planets form within cold, dense clouds of gas and dust drifting through interstellar space. Although dust makes up only a small fraction of this material, it plays a key role in shaping the chemical evolution of these environments.

We explored the Universe using weak gravitational lensing, a phenomenon that occurs when light from distant galaxies is bent by the gravitational fields of closer cosmic objects, much like how a lens distorts light.

Carbonaceous asteroids preserve a record of early solar system processes, where minerals and organic molecules, like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), offer clues to planetary evolution and prebiotic chemistry.

This thesis explores the theoretical and observational properties of distant massive galaxies that harbour active black holes in their centres and shine brightly at radio wavelengths.

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

Dark matter is one of the biggest mysteries of the Universe. Its properties cannot be explained with the known laws of physics and elementary particles.

Astronomical observations of cold regions in the universe show a rich inventory of ices. Part of these ices may end up on planets like our own, but in that journey they will be exposed to considerable amounts of radiation.

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

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

The radio sky harbours both galactic and extragalactic sources of arcminute- to degree-scale emission of various physical origins. To discover extragalactic diffuse emission in the Cosmic Web beyond galaxy clusters, one must image low–surface brightness structures amidst a sea of brighter compact fore-…

The LOFAR radio telescope produces petabytes of data every year. Radio Astronomers use complex multi-step pipelines to process this data and produce scientific images.

Promotor: Prof.dr. I.A.G. Snellen, C.U. Keller

Outflows are crucially important for the gas budget and evolution of luminous star-forming galaxies and AGNs, with observed mass outflow rates of the same order as the star formation rate. Greater star formation and black hole growth lead to more intense feedback and outflows, resulting in self-regulated…

Three major cosmology-focused missions are planned for the next decade: the Euclid space telescope, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

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.

In this thesis we investigate cosmology and the large scale structure of the Universe using cosmological simulations.

At the largest scales, two ingredients dictate the distribution of matter in the Universe. The first is dark matter, acting as an invisible scaffolding held together by gravitational forces.

This thesis addresses the chemical processes that determine the compositions of giant planet atmospheres.

Galaxies form and live inside dark matter haloes. As a consequence, they are exposed to the tidal fields generated by the surrounding matter distribution: this imprints a preferential direction to the galaxy shapes, which leads to a coherent alignment on physically close galaxies, called intrinsic a…

This thesis revolves around the electronic spectroscopy of molecules in the laboratory and the search for the carriers of the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs).

Promotor: A. Achúcarro Co-promotor: A. Boyarsky

Even though more than 4000 extra-solar planets are known today, only a small fraction of these has been captured in an image. To better understand the planet formation mechanisms in solar-like environments we started the Young Suns Exoplanet Survey (YSES).

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.

Many galaxy clusters exhibit bright diffuse radio emission that traces the underlying structure of the intracluster medium (ICM).

Promotor: K. Kuijken, Co-Promotor: H. Hoekstra

Promotor: J. Schaye

A large diversity of exoplanetary systems has been found, but it is still unclear what drives this diversity.

In astronomy, the interpration of observations and measurements plays a crucial role: we rely purely and fundamentally on the information that reaches us as observers. And 80% of all matter in the universe is undetectable directly.

This thesis aims to enhance our understanding of galaxies by testing theoretical models of galaxy formation against observations, particularly in the cases of extreme systems which have been found to have an excess of baryonic mass in their central regions, in the form of either supermassive black holes…

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

Galaxies in the local Universe fall into two main categories of spirals and ellipticals. In this Thesis, we explore the structural evolution of galaxies into this bimodal distribution.

The focus of the dissertation

Het Leids Astronomisch Dispuut Frederik Kaiser is een vereniging die zich inzet voor de studenten die in Leiden sterrenkunde studeren. Daarnaast zijn ze ook erg betrokken bij de publieksactiviteiten in de Oude Sterrewacht en helpen ze bij de ontwikkeling en uitvoering van andere projecten in het geb…

Promotor: Prof.dr. A.G.G.M. Tielens

To study how planetary systems come into existence we study much younger systems still in formation.

The expedition commanded by Nicolas Baudin to Tenerife, Mauritius, Australia, Timor and South Africa in 1800-1804 is fully researched in regard to ornithology.

One of the key discoveries in exoplanet research over the past decade is the abundance of small planets in our Milky Way. Despite their high numbers, our understanding of their atmospheres remains limited, and it is unknown if they possess atmospheres at all.

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.

An Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) is a highly luminous region at the center of a galaxy, powered by the accretion into a supermassive black hole and emitting energy from radio waves to gamma rays, often outshining the host galaxy.

Patterned detectors are an existing technology that can be found in almost all color cameras.

The aromatic infrared bands (AIBs) seen throughout the interstellar medium (ISM) are generally thought to be carried by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their nitrogen analogues (PANHs).

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

Hot astrophysical plasma is ubiquitous in the Universe, from comets in our Solar system to the largest scale structures -- the cosmic web filaments. These hot plasmas, with the temperature of a few millions of degrees, are often observed in the X-ray wavelength range.

More than 5,000 exoplanets have been found over the past couple of decades. These exoplanets show a tremendous diversity, ranging from scorching hot Jupiters, common super-Earths, to widely separated super-Jupiters on the planet/brown dwarf boundary.

This research focuses on the distribution of chemical elements in protoplanetary disks, the birthplaces of planets. These disks form around young stars and contain gas and dust, from which planets grow. Ice plays a crucial role in planet formation, aiding the clumping of dust particles and influencing…

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

Promotores: Prof.dr. G. Miley & Prof.dr. J.M. van den Broek

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