Dr Heidy M. Quitián-Lara
About
Dr Heidy M. Quitián-Lara graduated in Chemistry from the Universidad Industrial de Santander (Bucaramanga, Colombia) before joining the Observatório do Valongo at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) to complete her MSc (2016) and PhD (2020) in Astronomy with Prof Heloisa M. Boechat-Roberty. Her PhD thesis, entitled “Formation, destruction and identification of Complex Organic Molecules (COMs) in circumstellar environments”, was awarded an honourable mention by the Brazilian National Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) Users Group.
During her PhD studies, Heidy also carried out research activities at the Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble of the Université Grenoble Alpes (France) with Dr Bertrand Lefloch and at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Madrid, Spain) with Prof José Cernicharo. After completing her PhD, Heidy was a postdoctoral researcher at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (Germany) under supervision of Prof Ingo Fischer. In 2022, Heidy joined the group of Prof Nigel Mason at the University of Kent as a visiting researcher.
Research interests
Dr Heidy M. Quitián-Lara's research interests relate to the fields of molecular astrophysics, astrochemistry and astrobiology. These include: i) formation and destruction pathways of complex organic molecules (COMs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) processed by synchrotron radiation and high-energy particle beams; ii) molecular desorption and ion cluster formation by irradiation of astrophysical ice analogues; iii) photolysis and radiolysis of prebiotic molecules; iv) detection and identification of molecules in young stellar objects and solar-type protostars using single-dish radio telescopes; and v) physicochemical and morphological characterisation of protostellar sources.
Publications
Journal Articles
1. H. M. Quitián-Lara, F. Fantuzzi, M. A. C. Nascimento, W. Wolff, H. M. Boechat-Roberty. Hydrogenated Benzene in Circumstellar Environments: Insights into the Photostability of Super-hydrogenated PAHs. The Astrophysical Journal, 2018, 854, 61, 12 pp.
2. H. M. Quitián-Lara, F. Fantuzzi, R. R Oliveira, M. A.C. Nascimento, W. Wolff, H.a M Boechat-Roberty. Dissociative single and double photoionization of biphenyl (C12H10) by soft X-rays in planetary nebulae. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2020, 499, 6066-6083.
3. T. Monfredini, H. M. Quitián-Lara, F. Fantuzzi, W. Wolff, E. Mendoza, A. F. Lago, D. A. Sales, M. G. Pastoriza, H. M. Boechat-Roberty. Destruction and multiple ionization of PAHs by X-rays in circumnuclear regions of AGNs. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2019, 488, 451-469.
4. R. R Oliveira, G. Molpeceres, F. Fantuzzi, H. M Quitián-Lara, H. M Boechat-Roberty, J. Kästner. Gas-phase spectroscopic characterization of neutral and ionic polycyclic aromatic phosphorus heterocycles (PAPHs). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2021, 500, 2564-2576.
5. J. C Santos, F. Fantuzzi, H. M Quitián-Lara, Y. Martins-Franco, K. Menéndez-Delmestre, H. M Boechat-Roberty, R. R Oliveira. Multiply charged naphthalene and its C10H8 isomers: bonding, spectroscopy, and implications in AGN environments. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2022, 512, 4669-4682.
6. M. Gerlach, T. Preitschopf, E. Karaev, H.M. Quitián-Lara, D. Mayer, J. Bozek, I. Fischer, R. F. Fink. Auger electron spectroscopy of fulminic acid, HCNO: an experimental and theoretical study. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics., 2022, 24, 15217-15229.
7. F. Fantuzzi, W. Wolff, H. M. Quitián-Lara, H. M. Boechat-Roberty, G. Hilgers, B. Rudek, M. A. C. Nascimento. Unexpected reversal of stability in strained systems containing one-electron bonds. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2019, 21, 24984-24992 (HOT 2019 PCCP Article).
8. B. Lefloch, R. Bachiller, C. Ceccarelli, J. Cernicharo, C. Codella, A. Fuente, C. Kahane, A. López-Sepulcre, M. Tafalla, C. Vastel, E. Caux, M. González-García, E. Bianchi, A. Gómez-Ruiz, J. Holdship, E. Mendoza, J. Ospina-Zamudio, L. Podio, D. Quénard, E. Roueff, N. Sakai, S. Viti, S. Yamamoto, K. Yoshida, C. Favre, T. Monfredini, H. M. Quitián-Lara, N. Marcelino, H. M. Boechat-Roberty, S. Cabrit. Astrochemical evolution along star formation: overview of the IRAM Large Program ASAI. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2018, 477, 4792-4809.
Thesis
Formation, destruction and identification of Complex Organic Molecules (COMs) in circumstellar environments Observatório do Valogo – Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro – 2020
A complete list of publications can be found on Google Scholar.