Spending your time gazing at clouds and stars doesn’t sound like a bad life plan. And when it involves analysing the dust from which stars are born, it sounds like the life of a modern-day Tinkerbell. In reality, the process is as complex as it is exciting. This is what Leire Beitia (Getafe, Madrid, 1993), an astrophysicist who studies the evolution of the clouds that give rise to stars, tells us. “In astrophysics, despite being an experimental science, the main problem we have is that we cannot make direct measurements of the objects we study,” she says. “We have to limit ourselves to theorising, making remote observations and interpreting the results based on the little information we have, which is challenging because we cannot always definitively accept or reject our initial hypotheses.” But fortunately she likes a challenge.
Astrophysicists know that the properties of the clouds that give birth to stars can vary depending on their location in the galaxy, and that one of these properties is turbulence. Beitia explains: “To form stars we need the gas to condense, and the more agitated it is, the harder it is to form sufficiently dense condensations.” During her doctoral studies, Beitia focused her research on the study of interstellar dust. “These are small solid particles that are suspended in the gas that makes up the clouds, and which, in the outermost regions where the gas is less dense, can acquire an electric charge that facilitates the propagation of energy in the form of waves within the cloud, thereby influencing the formation of stars,” she explains.
Beitia analysed “how these dust grains move in the cloud by simulating their evolution on a computer and looking for the observational signature they would leave behind, which is really the only thing that can be measured. We can observe this trace in the ultraviolet wavelength range, which we can’t detect from the Earth’s surface because of the atmosphere, but which is accessible from space,” she adds.
She decided to investigate not only how stars form, but also how the complex molecules that give rise to life are created and what role interstellar dust plays in this process.
After completing her thesis, for which she received an Extraordinary PhD Award, she decided to devote herself not only to studying how stars form, but also how the complex molecules that give rise to life are created, and what role interstellar dust plays in this process. All these interests led her to work first with astrochemistry experts at the Spanish National Astronomical Observatory and later at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden.
She is currently a researcher in the Spatial Astronomy and Data Mining Research Group (AEGORA) at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) and is a lecturer in the Department of Statistics and Operations Research at this centre. Her research focuses on understanding the role played by interstellar dust in the evolution of star-forming clouds, both from a dynamical and chemical point of view. And how does she do this? “I mainly use numerical simulation tools to formulate my hypotheses, and then we compare the observational results with the theoretical predictions, for which we use all kinds of tools, especially statistics when the amount of data is large,” she says.
Her research is focused on understanding what role interstellar dust plays in the evolution of star-forming clouds, both dynamically and chemically
This brilliant scientist actually studied mathematics. In fact, she initially did so with the idea of becoming a secondary school teacher. She stresses that she “never felt inferior for being a woman,” which she attributes to her education. Indeed, she says that it was her mathematics teacher in the fourth year of secondary school who awakened her interest in science. And the influence of another woman, her physics professor at university, also changed the course of her professional life, the astrophysicist Ana Inés Gómez de Castro, Head Researcher in AEGORA in the Faculty of Mathematical Sciences at UCM.
But back to her research, an important element of her investigations is the use of ultraviolet astronomy. “Ultraviolet astronomy is a specific branch of observational astronomy. To put it simply, the observational process involves choosing a region of the sky and trying to collect all the signal (radiation) that can reach us. This signal has a characteristic frequency/wavelength depending on the properties of the emitting object, and at shorter wavelengths (ultraviolet) what we see is the signal from very hot objects, mainly radiation from stars.”
Interstellar dust not only affects the formation of stars or molecules, but it also interferes with the observation of other galaxies because it absorbs part of the radiation that should reach us
Although this wavelength range is not accessible from the Earth’s surface, it can be detected from space, hence the construction of space telescopes to study the Universe in the ultraviolet range.
It is not easy to talk about the practical applications of astrophysical research such as hers. But the reality is that almost all new knowledge has, or can have, an application. “Like all scientists, my professional aspiration is to make a contribution that brings us closer to a better understanding of the world in which we live, and the study of interstellar dust in particular is important in all areas,” she responds. “The issue is that it not only affects the formation of stars or molecules, but also interferes with the observation of other galaxies because it absorbs part of the radiation that should reach us,” she explains. And she adds another fact: “The closer we get to the origin of the Universe, the more the amount of interstellar dust varies, because these particles are synthesised by the stars during their evolution, but the primordial stars had a very different composition to more recently formed stars.”
It is not easy to talk about the practical applications of astrophysical research such as hers. But the reality is that almost all new knowledge has, or can have, an application. “Like all scientists, my professional aspiration is to make a contribution that brings us closer to a better understanding of the world in which we live, and the study of interstellar dust in particular is important in all areas,” she responds. “The issue is that it not only affects the formation of stars or molecules, but also interferes with the observation of other galaxies because it absorbs part of the radiation that should reach us,” she explains. And she adds another fact: “The closer we get to the origin of the Universe, the more the amount of interstellar dust varies, because these particles are synthesised by the stars during their evolution, but the primordial stars had a very different composition to more recently formed stars.”
Most of my colleagues have had to look for work outside Spain after finishing their thesis. And although this mobility is becoming a necessity, it is also one of the main reasons why people abandon scientific careers
As a young talent who has managed to follow her passion, she is well aware of the precarious situation facing many young scientists in Spain. “Although there are new laws and more funding, there is still a lot of uncertainty and the life of scientists, at least those of us who specialise in astrophysics, is quite hard. Most of my colleagues have had to look for work outside Spain after finishing their thesis, because this mobility is becoming an essential requirement if you want to move up in the academic world. And although this is undoubtedly positive, I think it is also one of the main reasons why people abandon scientific careers.“
To get young people interested in her discipline, Beitia has given numerous presentations. For example, she explains CubeSat technology: “They are small, cube-shaped satellites that are very cheap to build (compared to standard space telescopes, such as Hubble or James Webb), and that allow us to carry out very specific and important scientific projects.” “But the most important thing,” she adds, “is that in many schools, mostly outside Spain, these satellites are built by students in their final years of secondary education and university students, with the support of teachers and experts. We would like to see this type of activity become more widespread here, as it helps to stimulate interest in scientific careers.”
And as a final piece of advice to young people interested in science, Leire Beitia says that “space exploration is the branch of this field that will experience the greatest growth in the coming years and that will require heterogeneous teams of professionals.” “It is also important to strengthen the complementary training of these professionals so that they understand the whole problem in terms of funding, the resources needed, the scientific interest and the international legal regime.”
Susana Pérez de Pablos
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