Start - Laboratory for Astrophysics - Leiden Observatory

Harold V.J. Linnartz 1965 - 2023
With great sadness we share the news that Prof. Harold Linnartz passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday 31 December 2023. We are all in shock, and our thoughts are with his wife and children, other family, and friends. Harold was at the heart of our institute, as a researcher, as a supervisor, as education director and as head of the astrophysics lab. His passing will have an enormous impact on us all. Follow this link to the In Memoriam

Welcome tof the Laboratory for Astrophysics at Leiden Observatory

In my laboratory we use physical methods to answer chemical questions of astronomical interest. For this the LfA team has developed sophisticated experiments fully focused on reproducing the conditions under which molecules form in the inter- and circumstellar medium. Interstellar clouds are simulated with special plasma expansions and chemical reactions on icy dust grains are measured in ultra-high vacuum setups. This provides the data necessary to guide and interpret astronomical observations and to model reaction networks in space. 

Harold Linnartz