Associate Research Fellow (Tenured) (Retired)
asiaa.sinica.edu.twMolecular Astrophysics – (a) Theoretical studies of chemistry in interstellar clouds and circumstellar envelopes. (b) Observational studies in the submillimeter band of abundances of various molecules in space.
Based on a database of a few thousand chemical reactions, my program generates a computer code that estimates the rates of formations and destructions of hundreds of molecular species. The computer simulations with such a chemical code are compared with observations of molecules in interstellar clouds. Observations of molecular lines are translated to the amounts of the emitting molecules through calculations of molecular excitations by collisions and radiation. Important chemical processes are identified after finding a best match between observations and chemical simulations for an astronomical object. The figures show distributions of thin layers of peculiar molecules in a region illuminated by a hot star.
My activities also include radio observations of the molecules. I have been a frequent visitor to Mauna Kea (Hawaii) for observations for twenty years. Most observations these days are carried out in a remote or queue (automated) mode.
