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Division of Electronics, Detectors and Computing for Physics (DEDIP)

Institute of Research into the Fundamental Laws of the Universe

« The Astrophysics Division (DAp)

Anaëlle Maury receives an ERC Advanced grant for her project PEBBLES

Mar 30, 2023

Anaëlle Maury receives an ERC Advanced grant for her project PEBBLES

The European Research Council has just announced the names of the winners of the Advanced Grant. This 2023 edition rewards in particular two researchers from the CEA's fundamental research department for their work in the fields of astrophysics and neuroscience. Anaëlle Maury is the leader of the PEBBLES project. This project consists of developing an innovative methodology to characterise the properties of dust around very young stars in the process of forming their proto-planetary disks.

Dec 14, 2022

Elephant sharks, dolphins and butterflies: a relevant source of information on a centennial astrophysical enigma

A team from the Département d'Astrophysique, in collaboration with the start-up Iris.AI, has shown that one could find, in select biology studies, some relevant information to better understand the interstellar medium. These results will soon appear in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Methodologies and Issues in Science.

Elephant sharks, dolphins and butterflies: a relevant source of information on a centennial astrophysical enigma

First Images from the Webb Telescope

Jul 12, 2022

First Images from the Webb Telescope

The dawn of a new era in astronomy has begun as the world discovers for the first time the full capabilities of the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope's first color images and spectroscopic data, which reveal a spectacular array of previously elusive cosmic features, were released on July 12, 2022.

Jun 27, 2022

The remnants of massive star formation in the Tarantula Nebula

Understanding the star formation process is a major open question in contemporary astrophysics. It is indeed the process that controls the evolution of galaxies since their birth, gradually transforming their interstellar gas into stars and enriching it with heavy elements and dust grains. It is also the formation of stars that is at the origin of the formation of planetary systems and the appearance of life. This process is however complex and still very poorly understood.

The remnants of massive star formation in the Tarantula Nebula

Grains do form in the interstellar medium... except in the youngest galaxies

Jun 09, 2021

Grains do form in the interstellar medium... except in the youngest galaxies

An international team led by several researchers from LFEMI/DAp/CEA has just published a study shedding light on the formation mechanisms of interstellar grains in galaxies. This is one of the key results of the European DustPedia collaboration, which brings together some thirty people from six laboratories: the DAp at CEA-Saclay, the IAS at Orsay, the University of Ghent, the University of Cardiff, the Observatory of Florence and the Observatory of Athens.

Jun 04, 2020

ELT/METIS instrument formally entering final design phase

On May 18th 2020, ESO formally closed the preliminary design review of the ELT/METIS thermal infrared instrument. Following this important milestone, the instrument enters into the final design phase (phase C) in which the its design will be frozen just before its building.

ELT/METIS instrument formally entering final design phase

Birth of a planet

Jun 02, 2020

Birth of a planet

VLT/SPHERE observations of the star AB Aurigae pinpoint a giant planet in formation

Motivated by unusual features recently observed with the ALMA instrument in a proto-planetary disc around the star AB Aurigae, an international team of astrophysicists including a researcher from the Department of Astrophysics / Laboratory AIM of the CEA-Irfu of Paris-Saclay has just obtained a very sharp high-contrast image of a S-shasped sub-structure in the gaseous and dusty disc surrounding the star.

Nov 26, 2019

New clues about the origin of stellar masses

Dense molecular filaments are the cradles of stars

An international team led by the Astrophysics Department-AIM Laboratory of CEA-Irfu has just obtained new clues about the origin of star mass distribution, combining observational data from the large interferometer ALMA and the APEX radio telescope operated by the European Austral Observatory (ESO) and the Herschel Space Observatory.

New clues about the origin of stellar masses

A revised timeline for planetary formation?

Oct 11, 2019

A revised timeline for planetary formation?

Sounding the cosmic dust around proto-stars

An international team led by researchers from the CEA Paris-Saclay Astrophysics Department (DAp) have probed for the first time the dust envelopes surrounding stars in formation (so-called Class 0 protostars) thanks to the large interferometer NOEMA (former Plateau de Bure, France). Surpisingly, the researchers discovered the presence of large grains whose size grows as one gets closer to the central star.

Feb 28, 2019

Embryos of protoplanetary disks much smaller than expected

By exploring a sample of 16 of the closest protostars, thanks to the interferometric array of the Institute of millimetric radio astronomy (IRAM), an international team of astronomers, led by researchers from the Department of Astrophysics-AIM Laboratory of CEA IRFU, has just shown that a majority of disks where planets will be formed are born much smaller than expected.

Embryos of protoplanetary disks much smaller than expected

SPICA mission competing for ESA

May 23, 2018

SPICA mission competing for ESA

The European Spatial Agency retains the mission of exploration of galaxies

The SPICA infrared space telescope has been shortlisted by the European Space Agency (ESA) to participate in the final competition which will see in September 2021 the choice of the next mission of medium size ESA (M5 mission). SPICA is a large infrared telescope (diameter 2.5 m) fully cooled to a temperature of only a few degrees above absolute zero.

Apr 30, 2018

Too many massive proto-stars!

The laws of the birth of stars questioned

An international team led by researchers from the CNRS, Grenoble Alpes University and the Astrophysical Department /AIM Laboratory of CEA-Irfu suggests a radical modification on our ideas on the formation of stars. The accuracy of observations provided by the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile has made it possible to measure the quantity of massive star-forming cores in a very active far-away region of our galaxy, and thus to show that their proportion is higher than expected.

Too many massive proto-stars!

The magnetic field impact on the star formation

Apr 03, 2018

The magnetic field impact on the star formation

Detection by ALMA of polarized dust emission in the protostar B335

An international team led by the Department of Astrophysics/AIM Laboratory of CEA-Irfu has just shown for the first time that the magnetic field plays a fundamental role in the collapse of proto-stars. Based on observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, researchers measured the polarization of dust in the B335 protostar. This polarization, emission of light in a preferred direction, results from the alignment of the dust grains under the influence of the magnetic field.

Nov 28, 2017

The first observing programs of the James Webb Space Telescope finally revealed

TO BE TRANSLATED Après une sélection sévère, les premières cibles d'observation du télescope spatial James Web (JWST) qui doit être lancé au printemps 2019, viennent d'être dévoilées.

The first observing programs of the James Webb Space Telescope finally revealed

The ArTéMiS caméra operational at 5100 m altitude

Mar 11, 2017

The ArTéMiS caméra operational at 5100 m altitude

First light of the ArTéMiS camera at two wavelengths and first results on interstellar filaments

The new ArTéMiS submillimetric camera was successfully re-installed in June 2016 on the APEX telescope in the Atacama desert in Chile. In its new configuration, with an increased number of detectors, this camera can simultaneously obtain images at 350 and 450 microns.

Nov 18, 2016

Saturn distorted by its satellites

First evidence of the deformation of Saturn by tidal effects

Using several thousand images of Saturn's moons produced by the Cassini probe (NASA/ESA), an international team led by an astronomer from the Observatoire de Paris in the Institute of Celestial Mechanics and Calculation of Ephemerides ( Observatoire de Paris / CNRS / UPMC / Université Lille 1), in collaboration with CEA researchers, has succeeded in bringing to light small fluctuations in the gravitational field of the planet.

Saturn distorted by its satellites

Stars are born in filaments

Jun 06, 2016

Stars are born in filaments

Star formation in the filamentary Aquila and Taurus molecular clouds

Based on observations of nearby molecular clouds with the Herschel space observatory, recently large samples of future stars were detected in the form of dense cores. The properties of these compact seeds and their connection with interstellar filaments reveal us the earliest key stages of stars and the way of low-mass star formation. Among several cloud complexes along the Gould Belt (see image below) the Aquila and Taurus regions were targeted.

May 06, 2015

When planets are growing

Formation of solar systems: the role of "planets traps"

A team from the laboratory "Astrophysics, Instrumentation, Modeling" Paris-Saclay (AIM - CNRS / CEA / Université Paris Diderot) has developed a new model representing the evolution of protoplanetary disks over millions of years. These giant structures made of dust and gas are the privileged place of planet formation due to the presence of what researchers call "traps planets." With this new model, the scientists were able to determine the most favorable places to form the planets.

When planets are growing

Diving in the heart of the formation of stars with ArTéMiS

Sep 25, 2013

Diving in the heart of the formation of stars with ArTéMiS

First images of a new camera on the APEX telescope

The new ArTéMiS camera has been successfully installed on the APEX telescope (Atacama Pathfinder Experiment). APEX is a 12 meter diameter telescope at an altitude of 5100m in the Atacama Desert, operating at sub-millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelengths - between infrared light and radio waves of the electromagnetic spectrum - a precious tool for astronomers to scrutinize the cold universe. This new instrument has just delivered a spectacular and very detailed view of the nebula of the Patte de Chat.

Nov 28, 2012

Moons are born from rings

The planetary rings may be at the origin of most of the satellites around planets

Two scientists from the Université Nice Sophia Antipolis - Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur and from the Université Paris Diderot and CEA, have just proposed the first model to explain the origin of most of the regular satellites in our solar system.

Moons are born from rings

First steps of a tiny star

Jul 06, 2012

First steps of a tiny star

The formation of a brown dwarf

A team led by Philippe André du Service d'Astrophysique-Laboratoire AIM du CEA-Irfu has just uncovered the very first stage of the formation of a brown dwarf, one of these tiny stars with a mass just above the planets. Several hundreds brown dwarfs have already been detected in the galaxy but up to now it was impossible to observe their formation.

Apr 13, 2011

Herschel unravels interstellar filaments

The golden thread of the star formation

The Herschel space telescope of the European Space Agency (ESA) has given astrophysicists unpublished images of interstellar filament networks, in which the majority of stars are formed. By combining these observations with theoretical models, the researchers were able to characterize these filaments precisely, a further advance in understanding where and how stars are born.

Herschel unravels interstellar filaments

The heart of the giant stars reveal their source of energy

Mar 30, 2011

The heart of the giant stars reveal their source of energy

Evidence of red giants with a hydrogen burning shell

Thanks to the data of the NASA Kepler satellite, an international team including Rafael Garcia of the Astrophysical Department at CEA-Irfu [1], succesfully probe the heart of hundreds of giant stars for the first time. The researchers used stellar seismology to analyze very small oscillations in surface brightness to infer the characteristics of the heart of the stars.

Mar 17, 2011

Astronomers take the pulse of a giant star

First detection of gravity-like waves in a red giant star

Waves traveling inside the core of a giant star have been discovered by a international team of researchers including Rafael A. Garcia, member of the Service d'Astrophysique of CEA-Irfu [1]. The results were obtained using 320-day observations of the Kepler satellite by means of stellar seismology. These waves, known as gravity modes, produce very small changes in the brightness at the surface of the star.

Astronomers take the pulse of a giant star

Herschel detects five distant galaxies

Nov 05, 2010

Herschel detects five distant galaxies

An international team of astronomers, including several French researchers, has just completed a precise measurement of the distance to five distant galaxies using the ESA Herschel Space Observatory together with ground-based data from the interferometer operated by the Institute for Millimetric Radioastronomy (IRAM)1 . The research team has shown that the light from these galaxies has travelled for around ten thousand million years before reaching Earth.

Aug 26, 2010

Asteroseismology and Magnetic Activity

The CoRoT satellite reveals the magnetic cycle of a star

An international team[1] led by a CEA astrophysicist of the AIM Laboratory- Astrophysics Department of the CEA-Irfu has observed, for the first time, the cycle of magnetic activity in a star using stellar seismology - the study of vibrations in a star. The observations of HD49933 by the CoRoT[2] satellite revealed an cycle of magnetic activity identical to that seen in the Sun, but much shorter.

Asteroseismology and Magnetic Activity

Gas ring and colliding galaxies

Jul 09, 2010

Gas ring and colliding galaxies

The giant gas ring in Leo, formed when two galaxies collided

An international team led by astrophysicists from the Lyon Observatory (CRAL, CNRS/INSU, Université Lyon 1) and the AIM laboratory (CEA-Irfu, CNRS, Université Paris 7) has just shed some light on the origins of the giant gas ring in Leo. The astrophysicists were able to detect an optical counterpart to this cloud, which corresponds to stars in formation, using the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope (INSU-CNRS, CNRC, U. Hawaii).

Jun 09, 2010

The secret of Saturn's rings

Numerical simulations show new moons forming now from the rings

Numerical simulations peformed by a group of astrophysicists of the AIM-CEA Saclay Laboratory (University Paris Diderot, CEA, CNRS) and the Nice observatory, based on images collected by the Cassini mission, show that some tiny moons of Saturn are still forming now from material of the Saturn's rings, some billion years after the end of the formation of planets and satellites inside the Solar system. The simulations can also give some clues about the formation of the Earth's moon.

The secret of Saturn's rings

The infrared camera for the next space telescope ready to go

Apr 22, 2010

The infrared camera for the next space telescope ready to go

Delivery of the Flight Model for a launch planned to take place in 2014

The Astrophysics Department of CEA-Irfu, which has scientific and technical responsibility for the MIRIM imager (Mid Infrared Imager) on the MIRI spectro-imager, one of the major instruments of the forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), has just delivered the final model of the imager to the Appleton Rutherford laboratory in England, who will carry out the final test before the delivering it for integration into the JWST at the start of 2011 [1].

Dec 19, 2009

Images of stars before their births

Herschel discovers hundreds of proto-stars in a dark cloud

The first scientific images of the Herschel Space telescope have just been released during a scientific conference held at Madrid (Spain) on 17 and 18 decembre 2009, only six months after launch.

Images of stars before their births

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