Composite images of (a) Jet, (b) Accretion Disk, and (c) Organic Atmosphere in the HH 212 Protostellar System. Adopted from Lee et al. 2017a, 2017b, 2017c (Science Advances, Nature Astronomy, Nature Research Highlight)

I am a Distinguished Research Fellow and Deputy Director at Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA) and was a Joint Professor at National Taiwan University (NTU). Here is my CV and publication list (as of 2022 March 11) I am the PI of the ALMA-Taiwan Project. I also manage the ASIAA CASA Development Center (ACDC) and co-lead the development of the visualization and analysis software CARTA .

Research  |  Resources  |  Relaxation  |  CARTA Development

Stars are the building blocks of our Galaxy and most of them are low-mass stars like our Sun. Therefore, the formation of low-mass stars has direct influences on the evolution of our Galaxy. More importantly, the formation of low-mass stars and their planets has direct implications on the formation of our Solar System and the origin of life. Once formed, the low-mass stars can live as main-sequence stars for about 10 billion years by fusing hydrogen in their cores. There are also failed stars called ``brown dwarfs'' that do not have enough mass to fuse hydrogen in their cores. It is still not fully clear yet if they can form like low-mass stars and why they can not gain enough mass to be real stars.

My research has been focused mainly on low-mass (Sun-like) star formation, some on the shaping mechanism of protoplanetary nebulae (PPNs) in the stellar evolution, and some on brown dwarf formation. I perform my research mainly with radio interferometric observations [using Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), Submillimeter Array (SMA), Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland Association (BIMA) Array, Very Large Array (VLA)], radiative transfer modeling, and (magneto)hydrodynamical simulations.

ALMA is currently the largest radio interferometry array in the world, with unprecedented resolution and sensitivity in millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths, and is thus the best instrument to study the star formation in the early phase. With ALMA, I have obtained a few breakthrough discoveries in star formation, with some highlighted by the following Press Releases.

• Early Grain Growth in The Spiral-dominated Protostellar Disk (ASIAA Science Highlight The Astrophysical Journal Letters , Lee et al. 2024)
• ALMA Captures Detailed Image of Young Protostellar Disk with Spiral Arm (ALMA Image Releases The Astrophysical Journal Letters , Lee et al. 2023)
• Uncovering The Magneto-Centrifugal Origin of Protostellar Jets (Phys.org Astronomy News, The Astrophysical Journal Letters , Lee et al. 2022)
• Discovery of Interaction between Jet and Disk Wind from a Star-Forming Accretion Disk (ALMA Press, The Astrophysical Journal Letters , Lee et al. 2021)
• Feeding a Baby Star Through a Whirlpool in Space (ALMA Press, Nature Astronomy , Lee et al. 2020)
• Beer On Space Hamburger around a Baby Star (ASIAA Science Highlight, The Astrophysical Journal , Lee et al. 2019)
• Magnetic Field found in a Jet from a Baby Star (ALMA Press, Nature Communications , Lee et al. 2018)
• Youngest Accretion Disk Detected in Star Formation (Phys.org Astronomy News, The Astrophysical Journal , Lee et al. 2018)
• Organic molecules spotted in star-forming disk ( Nature Research Highlight, The Astrophysical Journal , Lee et al. 2017c)
• Prebiotic atmosphere discovered on accretion disk of baby star ( ALMA Press, The Astrophysical Journal , Lee et al. 2017c)
• Baby star spits a ``spinning jet" as it munches down on a ``space hamburger" (ALMA Press, Nature Astronomy with Cover Page, Lee et al. 2017b)
• The onset of an extra-solar system -- feeding a baby star with a dusty hamburger (ALMA Press, Science Advances , Lee et al. 2017a)
  • "Space hamburger" spotted in astronomical first (CBS News)
  • "Space hamburger" spotted in astronomical first (FOX News)
• Jets Are A Real Drag (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Press, The Astrophysical Journal , Lee et al. 2007)