Alice S. Booth

About me

I am a Clay Fellow at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian where I primarily collaborate with the group of Prof. Karin Öberg. Before this, I was a PostDoc in Prof. Ewine van Dishoeck's Astrochemisty group at Leiden Observatory. I was awarded my PhD from the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leeds where I was supervised by Dr Catherine Walsh. I gained my BSc in Physics from the University of Aberdeen, my hometown, in 2016. I am interested in the formation, composition and detection of (exo)planets. My research uses both observations (e.g. with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array ) and astrochemical modelling to unravel the structure and composition of protoplanetary disks. (header image credit: Credit: ESO/L. Calçada)

 Research Highlights in the Press

Disks can inherit complex
organic molecules! 

The abundant methanol in an environment where it cannot form in-situ indicates the inheritance of ice from the earlier, colder stages in star formation. 
Nature Astronomy paper detailing the detection of methanol in the HD100546 disk and press release from NOVA

A rare molecule weighing in on the birth of planets

First detection of rare isotope 13C17O in a disk shows that CO disk masses are underestimated
in warm disks.
Press Release here. 

Astronomers discover largest molecule yet in a planet-forming disk

First detection of dimethyl ether in a disk showing complex organics are detectable in older disks. Paper lead by MSc student Nashanty Brunken.
Press releases: ESO, NOVA

A Surprise Chemical Find by ALMA May Help Detect and Confirm Protoplanets

The first detection of SiS in a disk may be tracing outflow shocks from a forming giant planet...

The paper led by C. Law
Press Release from NRAO