LERMA

Management

• Director : Benoit SEMELIN
• Deputy directors : Martina WIEDNER, Ludovic PETITDEMANGE
• Technical director : Jean-Michel KRIEG
• Administrative manager : Muriel CHEVRIER
• Directior’s assistant : Carine BINGAN

Organisation of the laboratory and research topics

LERMA is organised in 4 Research Poles, complemented by 2 transverse structures, one dedicated to Technology and Support to Research, and one dedicated to Scientific Services. Doctoral studies are principally conducted within École doctorale Astronomie et Astrophysique d’Île de France (ED 127), but about half of our PhD students belong to other Doctoral schools in physics, engineering and environment (ED 129, 130, 389 et 417).

Pôle "Galaxies and Cosmology" (OP)

• Early Universe
• Galaxy formation and dynamics
• Clusters of galaxies
• Dark matter
• Active galactic nuclei, star formation and feedback in galaxies

Pôle "Dynamics of the Interstellar Medium and Stellar Plasmas" (ENS, OP, UPMC)

• Observational characterization of the ISM cycle
• Modeling ISM evolution from diffuse gas to stars and disks
• Chemical diagnostics of ISM dynamics
• Turbulent and radiative transport in (circum)stellar plasmas
• Experimental studies of (circum)stellar plasmas

Pôle "Molecules in the Universe" (UCP, OP, UPMC)

• Gas-surface interactions
• Gas-phase molecular processes
• Exotic isotopic spin ratios
• Molecular parameters for planetary, terrestrial atmospheres and ISM

Pôle "Instrumentation and Remote Sensing" (OP)

• THz components and subsystems
• THz heterodyne instruments
• Characterization of clear, cloudy and rainy atmospheres
• Characterization of Earth, planets and comets surfaces
• Data processing, storage and diffusion

Personnel (as of January 2014)

• 45 engineers and technicians (including 6 under contract)
• 11 astronomers (including 3 emeriti)
• 31 teaching researchers (including 3 emeriti and 4 under contract)
• 21 researchers (including 7 emeriti)
• 8 post-doctoral fellows
• 30 PhD students
• 2 apprentices

Main collaborations

• Major agencies and institutions in charge of space missions and major ground-based facilities having collaborations with LERMA: IRAM, ESO, CEA, CNES, ESA, NASA
• Main industrial partners collaborating on research and development projects: Alcatel/Thalès, EADS/Astrium, RPG, Estellus and Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures (LPN).
• Main collaborating laboratories and institutes: most of Ile-de-France laboratories, in particular members of the 7 “Laboratoires d’Excellence” (LabEx), in which LERMA participates:
  • Plas@Par: Plasma Physics in Paris (UPMC)
  • ESEP: Exploration Spatiale des Environnements Planétaires (Paris Observatory)
  • First-TF: Recherche, Innovation, Formation, Services et Transfert en Temps-Fréquence (CNRS)
  • ICFP: International Center of Fundamental Physics (ENS)
  • ILP: Institut Lagrange de Paris (UPMC)
  • L-IPSL: Labex Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (IPSL)
  • MIChem: Multiscale Interactions in Chemistry (UPMC)
• In addition, many laboratories in France and in Europe collaborate with LERMA teams through ANR or FP7 funded projects, and several large laboratories worldwide have established sustained relations with LERMA (e.g. Caltech and JPL, UC Berkeley, GISS New York, Purple Mountain Observatory Nanjing, RAL Oxford, MPE Garching...)

Salient results

Star formation efficiency along the radio jet in Centaurus A

© LERMA - Observatoire de Paris

The earliest phase of star formation, captured through its bipolar ejection activity

© LERMA - Observatoire de Paris

New method for measuring the diffusion and desorption energy of atoms and

© LERMA - Observatoire de Paris

First results on a 1200 GHz Schottky receiver prototype for JUICE-SWI

© LERMA - Observatoire de Paris

More details