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Laura María Pérez Muñoz

Profesor Asistente

Universidad de Chile

Las Condes, Chile

Líneas de Investigación


I study the formation and evolution of planetary systems around young stars, focusing on observations that trace the solid and gaseous distribution of material in planet-forming disks, and its comparison with theoretical predictions.

Educación

  •  Ph.D. Astrophysics, CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. Estados Unidos, 2012
  •  M.Sc. Astrophysics, CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. Estados Unidos, 2007
  •  M.Sc. Astronomy, UNIVERSIDAD DE CHILE. Chile, 2006
  •  M.Sc. Astronomy, UNIVERSIDAD DE CHILE. Chile, 2004

Experiencia Académica

  •   Jansky Postdoctoral Fellow Full Time

    NRAO (National Radio Astronomy Observatory)

    Socorro, Estados Unidos

    2012 - 2015

  •   Humboldt Research Fellow Full Time

    MAX-PLANCK INSTITUT FUR RADIOASTRONOMIE

    Bonn, Alemania

    2015 - 2017

  •   Assistant Professor Full Time

    UNIVERSIDAD DE CHILE

    Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas

    Santiago, Chile

    2017 - A la fecha

Experiencia Profesional

  •   Graduate Researcher Full Time

    CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

    Pasadena, Estados Unidos

    2006 - 2012

Formación de Capital Humano


PhD and MSc Programs at Universidad de Chile:
• Current PhD Advisor for
- Sebastián Jorquera (PhD Astro with "Beca Doctorado ANID", expected 2024)
- Marie Rodríguez (PhD Astro with "Beca Doctorado ANID", expected 2025)
• Current MSc Advisor for
- Catalina Vargas (MSc Astro, expected 2024)
- Camila Pulgarés (MSc Astro, expected 2024)
- Maria Jesus Mellado, (MSc Computer Sciences with "Beca Doctorado ANID", expected 2026)

• Former students:
- Nicolás T. Kurtovic (MSc 2019, PhD at MPIA/Heidelberg in 2023, now Postdoc at MPE/Garching)
- Teresa Paneque-Carreño (MSc 2020, PhD at ESO/Garching and Leiden University expected in 2024)
- Sebastián Jorquera (MSc, graduated in 2021, now PhD student at U.Chile)

BSc Program at Universidad de Chile:
• Former Research Advisor for over a handful of undergraduate students.

NRAO Summer REU Program:
• Research Advisor for Elizabeth Gutierrez, now B.Sc. student at University of Texas
• Research Advisor for Sam Mellon, now Ph.D. student at University of Rochester


Difusión y Transferencia


- Review or Invited Speaker at over 35 different national and international conferences.
- Colloquium, Seminar, or contributed speaker at over 30 different universities and conferences.
- Public speaker at multiple events for the general public in Chile and the U.S.


Premios y Distinciones

  •   Premio Excelencia Científica Adelina Gutiérrez

    ACADEMIA CHILENA DE CIENCIAS

    Chile, 2020

    El premio de Excelencia Científica “Adelina Gutiérrez” es otorgado anualmente por la Academia Chilena de Ciencias, con el objetivo de contribuir a la promoción de la Ciencia en el país e incentivar a las investigadoras jóvenes menores de 40 años.

  •   Humboldt Research Fellowship

    ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT FOUNDATION

    Alemania, 2015

    Humboldt Research Fellowship Programme for Postdoctoral Researchers

  •   John P. Huchra Departmental Citizenship Award

    CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

    Estados Unidos, 2011

    Graduate student award.

  •   Jansky Postdoctoral Fellowship

    NATIONAL RADIOASTRONOMY OBSERVATORY

    Estados Unidos, 2012

    The Jansky Fellowship Program supports outstanding postdoctoral scientists and engineers whose research is broadly related to the mission of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO).

  •   Fulbright-CONICYT Fellowship

    COMISION FULBRIGHT-CHILE

    Chile, 2006

    Fulbright-CONICYT Fellowship for graduate studies at California Institute of Technology

  •   TWAS-CAS Young Scientist Award for Frontier Science

    THIRD WORLD ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

    Italia, 2021

    The "TWAS-CAS Young Scientist Award for Frontier Science" is an annual award that recognizes scientific achievements by young scientists living and working in a developing country. In 2021, Laura Pérez received this award for her significant contributions to reveal the signatures of planet formation using innovative high-resolution imaging to study protoplanetary disks.

  •   2024 New Horizons in Physics Prize

    Breakthrough Prize Foundation

    Estados Unidos, 2024

    The New Horizons in Physics Prize is awarded to promising early-career researchers who have already produced important work. In 2024, the young researchers Laura M. Pérez, Paola Pinilla, Nienke van der Marel and Til Birnstiel, where awarded this prize for the prediction, discovery, and modeling of dust traps in young circumstellar disks, solving a long-standing problem in planet formation.


 

Article (111)

High-resolution ALMA observations of compact discs in the wide-binary system Sz 65 and Sz 66
A kinematically detected planet candidate in a transition disk
A Magnetically Driven Disk Wind in the Inner Disk of PDS 70
Kinematic and thermal signatures of the directly imaged protoplanet candidate around Elias 2-24
Mapping Protoplanetary Disk Vertical Structure with CO Isotopologue Line Emission
CO Line Emission Surfaces and Vertical Structure in Midinclination Protoplanetary Disks
Detection of Near-infrared Water Ice at the Surface of the (Pre)Transitional Disk of AB Aur: Informing Icy Grain Abundance, Composition, and Size
Distributions of gas and small and large grains in the LkH alpha 330 disk trace a young planetary system
Gemini-LIGHTS: Herbig Ae/Be and Massive T Tauri Protoplanetary Disks Imaged with Gemini Planet Imager
Large Binocular Telescope Search for Companions and Substructures in the (Pre)transitional Disk of AB Aurigae
Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS): A Circumplanetary Disk Candidate in Molecular-line Emission in the AS 209 Disk
Probing inner and outer disk misalignments in transition disks Constraints from VLTI/GRAVITY and ALMA observations
The morphology of CS Cha circumbinary disk suggesting the existence of a Saturn-mass planet
Vertically extended and asymmetric CN emission in the Elias 2-27 protoplanetary disk
A Circumplanetary Disk around PDS70c
A Dynamical Measurement of the Disk Mass in Elias 2-27
A Search for Companions via Direct Imaging in the DSHARP Planet-forming Disks
Limits on Millimeter Continuum Emission from Circumplanetary Material in the DSHARP Disks
Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS). I. Program Overview and Highlights
Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS). II. CLEAN Strategies for Synthesizing Images of Molecular Line Emission in Protoplanetary Disks
Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS). IV. Emission Surfaces and Vertical Distribution of Molecules
Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS). V. CO Gas Distributions
Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS). VI. Distribution of the Small Organics HCN, C<sub>2</sub>H, and H<sub>2</sub>CO
Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS). XIV. Revealing Disk Substructures in Multiwavelength Continuum Emission
Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS). XV. Tracing Protoplanetary Disk Structure within 20 au
Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS). XVIII. Kinematic Substructures in the Disks of HD 163296 and MWC 480
Spiral Arms and a Massive Dust Disk with Non-Keplerian Kinematics: Possible Evidence for Gravitational Instability in the Disk of Elias 2-27
The Architecture of the V892 Tau System: The Binary and Its Circumbinary Disk
The Ophiuchus DIsc Survey Employing ALMA (ODISEA) - III. The evolution of substructures in massive discs at 3-5 au resolution
A Multifrequency ALMA Characterization of Substructures in the GM Aur Protoplanetary Disk
Annular substructures in the transition disks around LkCa 15 and J1610
Large-scale CO Spiral Arms and Complex Kinematics Associated with the T Tauri Star RU Lup
Nine Localized Deviations from Keplerian Rotation in the DSHARP Circumstellar Disks: Kinematic Evidence for Protoplanets Carving the Gaps
Spirals inside the millimeter cavity of transition disk SR 21
The VLA/ALMA Nascent Disk and Multiplicity (VANDAM) Survey of Orion Protostars. II. A Statistical Characterization of Class 0 and Class I Protostellar Disks
A dust and gas cavity in the disc around CQ Tau revealed by ALMA
An Ideal Testbed for Planet-Disk Interaction: Two Giant Protoplanets in Resonance Shaping the PDS 70 Protoplanetary Disk
An Inner Disk in the Large Gap of the Transition Disk SR 24S
Detection of Continuum Submillimeter Emission Associated with Candidate Protoplanets
Formation and Evolution of Protoplanetary Disks: Observations and Modeling of Jets, Disks, and Disk Substructures
Highly structured disk around the planet host PDS70 revealed by high-angular resolution observations with ALMA
New Constraints From Dust Lines on the Surface Densities of Protoplanetary Disks
One Solution to the Mass Budget Problem for Planet Formation: Optically Thick Disks with Dust Scattering
Spatial segregation of dust grains in transition disks SPHERE observations of 2MASS J16083070-3828268 and RXJ1852.3-3700
The Radial Distribution of Dust Particles in the HL Tau Disk from ALMA and VLA Observations
The VLA/ALMA Nascent Disk and Multiplicity (VANDAM) Survey of Orion Protostars. I. Identifying and Characterizing the Protostellar Content of the OMC-2 FIR4 and OMC-2 FIR3 Regions
VLA cm-wave survey of young stellar objects in the Oph A cluster: constraining extreme UV- and X-ray-driven disk photoevaporation
ALMA Observations of Polarization from Dust Scattering in the IM Lup Protoplanetary Disk
CO and Dust Properties in the TW Hya Disk from High-resolution ALMA Observations
Discovery of a planetary-mass companion within the gap of the transition disk around PDS 70
Evidence for a massive dust-trapping vortex connected to spirals: Multi-wavelength analysis of the HD 135344B protoplanetary disk
First direct detection of a polarized companion outside a resolved circumbinary disk around CS Chamaeleonis
Homogeneous Analysis of the Dust Morphology of Transition Disks Observed with ALMA: Investigating Dust Trapping and the Origin of the Cavities
Rings and gaps in the disc around Elias 24 revealed by ALMA
Shadows and asymmetries in the T Tauri disk HD 143006: Evidence for a misaligned inner disk
The Complex Morphology of the Young Disk MWC 758: Spirals and Dust Clumps around a Large Cavity
The Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Program (DSHARP). VIII. the Rich Ringed Substructures in the AS 209 Disk
The Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP). I. Motivation, Sample, Calibration, and Overview
The Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP). II. Characteristics of Annular Substructures
The Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP). III. Spiral Structures in the Millimeter Continuum of the Elias 27, im Lup, and WaOph 6 Disks
The Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP). IV. Characterizing Substructures and Interactions in Disks around Multiple Star Systems
The Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP). IX. A High-definition Study of the HD 163296 Planet-forming Disk
The Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP). V. Interpreting ALMA Maps of Protoplanetary Disks in Terms of a Dust Model
The Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP). VI. Dust Trapping in Thin-ringed Protoplanetary Disks
The Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP). VII. the Planet-Disk Interactions Interpretation
The Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP). X. Multiple Rings, a Misaligned Inner Disk, and a Bright Arc in the Disk around the T Tauri star HD 143006
The Millimeter Continuum Size-Frequency Relationship in the UZ Tau E Disk
The VLA Nascent Disk and Multiplicity Survey of Perseus Protostars (VANDAM). IV. Free-Free Emission from Protostars: Links to Infrared Properties, Outflow Tracers, and Protostellar Disk Masses
The VLA Nascent Disk and Multiplicity Survey of Perseus Protostars (VANDAM). V. 18 Candidate Disks around Class 0 and I Protostars in the Perseus Molecular Cloud
The VLA/ALMA Nascent Disk and Multiplicity (VANDAM) Survey of Perseus Protostars. VI. Characterizing the Formation Mechanism for Close Multiple Systems
A Close-up View of the Young Circumbinary Disk HD 142527
A Multi-wavelength Analysis of Dust and Gas in the SR 24S Transition Disk
Protoplanetary Disks in rho Ophiuchus as Seen from ALMA
The properties of the inner disk around HL Tau: Multi-wavelength modeling of the dust emission
A triple protostar system formed via fragmentation of a gravitationally unstable disk
Dust properties across the CO snowline in the HD 163296 disk from ALMA and VLA observations
Gas Cavities inside Dust Cavities in Disks Inferred from ALMA Observations
Multiwavelength analysis for interferometric (sub-)mm observations of protoplanetary disks Radial constraints on the dust properties and the disk structure
REVOLUTIONIZING OUR VIEW OF PROTOSTELLAR MULTIPLICITY AND DISKS: THE VLA NASCENT DISK AND MULTIPLICITY (VANDAM) SURVEY OF THE PERSEUS MOLECULAR CLOUD
Ringed Structures of the HD 163296 Protoplanetary Disk Revealed by ALMA
RINGED SUBSTRUCTURE AND A GAP AT 1 au IN THE NEAREST PROTOPLANETARY DISK
Spiral density waves in a young protoplanetary disk
THE CARMA PAIRED ANTENNA CALIBRATION SYSTEM: ATMOSPHERIC PHASE CORRECTION FOR MILLIMETER WAVE INTERFEROMETRY AND ITS APPLICATION TO MAPPING THE ULTRALUMINOUS GALAXY ARP 193
THE VLA NASCENT DISK AND MULTIPLICITY SURVEY OF PERSEUS PROTOSTARS (VANDAM). II. MULTIPLICITY OF PROTOSTARS IN THE PERSEUS MOLECULAR CLOUD
THE VLA NASCENT DISK AND MULTIPLICITY SURVEY: FIRST LOOK AT RESOLVED CANDIDATE DISKS AROUND CLASS 0 AND I PROTOSTARS IN THE PERSEUS MOLECULAR CLOUD
THE VLA VIEW OF THE HL TAU DISK: DISK MASS, GRAIN EVOLUTION, AND EARLY PLANET FORMATION
Gas density drops inside dust cavities of transitional disks around young stars observed with ALMA
GRAIN GROWTH IN THE CIRCUMSTELLAR DISKS OF THE YOUNG STARS CY Tau AND DoAr 25
HIGH-RESOLUTION 8 mm AND 1 cm POLARIZATION OF IRAS 4A FROM THE VLA NASCENT DISK AND MULTIPLICITY (VANDAM) SURVEY
MASS ASSEMBLY OF STELLAR SYSTEMS AND THEIR EVOLUTION WITH THE SMA (MASSES). MULTIPLICITY AND THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT IN L1448N
Search for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Perseus molecular cloud with the Green Bank Telescope
Testing particle trapping in transition disks with ALMA
THE 2014 ALMA LONG BASELINE CAMPAIGN: AN OVERVIEW
THE 2014 ALMA LONG BASELINE CAMPAIGN: FIRST RESULTS FROM HIGH ANGULAR RESOLUTION OBSERVATIONS TOWARD THE HL TAU REGION
THE 2014 ALMA LONG BASELINE CAMPAIGN: OBSERVATIONS OF ASTEROID 3 JUNO AT 60 KILOMETER RESOLUTION
THE 2014 ALMA LONG BASELINE CAMPAIGN: OBSERVATIONS OF THE STRONGLY LENSED SUBMILLIMETER GALAXY HATLAS J090311.6+003906 AT z=3.042
THE VLA NASCENT DISK AND MULTIPLICITY (VANDAM) SURVEY OF PERSEUS PROTOSTARS. RESOLVING THE SUB-ARCSECOND BINARY SYSTEM IN NGC 1333 IRAS2A
LARGE-SCALE ASYMMETRIES IN THE TRANSITIONAL DISKS OF SAO 206462 AND SR 21
Molecular gas properties of UV-bright star-forming galaxies at low redshift
On the structure of the transition disk around TW Hydrae
RESOLVED MULTIFREQUENCY RADIO OBSERVATIONS OF GG Tau
SEARCHING FOR CIRCUMPLANETARY DISKS AROUND LkCa 15
AN AZIMUTHAL ASYMMETRY IN THE LkH alpha 330 DISK
THE IONIZED CIRCUMSTELLAR ENVELOPES OF ORION SOURCE I AND THE BECKLIN-NEUGEBAUER OBJECT
CONSTRAINTS ON THE RADIAL VARIATION OF GRAIN GROWTH IN THE AS 209 CIRCUMSTELLAR DISK
ON THE NATURE OF THE TRANSITION DISK AROUND LkCa 15
THE CHANDRA MULTI-WAVELENGTH PROJECT: OPTICAL SPECTROSCOPY AND THE BROADBAND SPECTRAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTIONS OF X-RAY-SELECTED AGNs
DISK AND ENVELOPE STRUCTURE IN CLASS 0 PROTOSTARS. II. HIGH-RESOLUTION MILLIMETER MAPPING OF THE SERPENS SAMPLE
ATMOSPHERIC PHASE CORRECTION USING CARMA-PACS: HIGH ANGULAR RESOLUTION OBSERVATIONS OF THE FU ORIONIS STAR PP 13S*
Atmospheric phase correction using the CARMA paired antennas calibration system
Proto-planetary disks with CARMA: sub-arsecond observations at millimeter wavelengths

ConferencePaper (1)

TW Hydrae: Multi-wavelength interferometry of a transition disk

Errata (1)

The Chandra Multi-wavelength Project: Optical Spectroscopy and the Broadband Spectral Energy Distributions of X-ray-selected AGNs (vol 200, 17, 2012)

Proyecto (12)

The Role of Gas and Solids in Young and Old Protoplanetary Disks: Insights from ALMA
The origin of Brown Dwarfs with ALMA
CATA: Centro de Astrofísica y Tecnologías Afines
THE FIRST STAGES TOWARDS THE BIRTH OF PLANETS
Young Planets and Planet-forming Disks
Upgrading the VLT/SPHERE Instrument to Image Planet-Forming Regions
Studying the Dawn of Planets in the Era of ALMA
SUBSTRUCTURES IN PROTOPLANETARY DISKS: WHAT IS THEIR ROLE IN THE PLANET FORMATION PROCESS?
Substructures in Protoplanetary Disks=> What is their Role in the Planet Formation Process?
Understanding the Role of Substructures in the Formation of Planets inside Circumstellar Disks
ALMA Cycle 0 Observing Grant
THE EVOLUTION OF HEAVY ELEMENTS IN THE UNIVERSE FROM REIONIZATION TO Z=0
122
Laura Pérez

Profesor Asistente

Astronomía

Universidad de Chile

Las Condes, Chile

9
Viviana Guzman

Assistant Professor

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Santiago, Chile

3
Anibal Sierra

Posdoctoral Researcher

Astronomía

Universidad de Chile

Santiago, Chile

2
Amelia Stutz

Associate Professor

Astronomy

UNIVERSIDAD DE CONCEPCION

Concepcion, Chile

2
Johan Olofsson

Profesor asistente

Instituto de Fisica y Astronomia

UNIVERSIDAD DE VALPARAISO

Valparaiso, Chile

1
Alice Zurlo

Profesor asistente

Universidad Diego Portales

Santiago , Chile

1
Alexandre Gallenne

Fellow

Astronomy

UNIVERSIDAD DE CONCEPCION, DEPARTAMENTO DE ASTRONOMÍA, FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS FÍSICAS Y MATEMÁTICAS

concepción, Chile