Lucy Ziurys
University of Arizona, AZ·Astronomy & Astrophysics
Near the end of their lives, stars shed huge amounts of gas and dust. This material enriches the space between stars, the interstellar medium (ISM), with heavy elements and molecules.
- Fields
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Chemistry
- Topics
radio astronomy
laboratory astrophysics
astrochemistry
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Aug 2027
What they work on
- Assess the carbon budget and isotope ratios of the carbon-rich AGB star IRC+10216 by analyzing a highly sensitive broadband millimeter-wave survey.
- Measure the rotational spectra, the radio fingerprints of spinning molecules, of new metal-bearing carbides in the laboratory so they can be identified in the gas around stars.
- Analyze high-resolution molecular images of the oxygen-rich envelope of VY Canis Majoris to learn how the carbon-to-oxygen ratio shapes its chemistry.
- Measure the molecular and isotopic composition of carbon-rich and oxygen-rich protoplanetary and planetary nebulae using radio astronomical observations.
More about the research
The research follows how the molecules in this ejected material change as a dying star evolves. It starts with asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, which are bloated red giants losing mass. It then moves to protoplanetary nebulae (PPNe), a short in-between stage, and ends with planetary nebulae (PNe), glowing shells of gas around a dying star's core. The work combines radio telescope observations with laboratory spectroscopy.
Why it matters
This work explains how dying stars seed the galaxy with the gas, dust and heavy elements from which new stars and planets later form. It adds an inventory of molecules and isotopes across the late stages of stellar life. The new laboratory spectra will help astronomers identify metal-bearing molecules in space.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Jinjun Liu
University of Louisville, KY·Chemistry
Develop methods to produce magnesium-bearing carbon chains and clusters with odd numbers of carbon atoms, using laser ablation of magnesium with organic precursors and cooling in a supersonic molecular beam.
David Weinberg
Ohio State University, OH·Astronomy & Astrophysics
Measure how much core-collapse supernovae, Type Ia supernovae and asymptotic giant branch stars contribute to element abundance patterns, by modeling data from large spectroscopic surveys of Milky Way stars.
Karin Oberg
Harvard University, MA·Astronomy & Astrophysics
Measure UV- and electron-induced photodissociation cross sections and breakdown products for 15 organic molecules embedded in interstellar ice analogs, using ultra-high vacuum experiments monitored by FTIR spectroscopy.
The school
University of Arizona: 36 labs on PI Pages, $1.0B a year on research, 487 research doctorates a year.
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