Main profile

Liton Majumdar

School: 

Earth & Planetary Sciences

Designation: 

Assistant Professor

Education: 

• Assistant Professor, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar, India (24 June 2019 to Present)
• Visiting Scientist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, USA  (Formally Appointed by the Office of the Chief Scientist, 24 June 2019 to Present)
• NASA Post Doctoral Program Fellow, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, USA (10 July 2017 to 23 June 2019)  http://science.jpl.nasa.gov/people/LMajumdar/
• CNRS Post Doctoral Researcher under the European Research Council (ERC) Grant, Laboratoire d'astrophysique de Bordeaux, University of Bordeaux, France (Dec 2014 to June 2017)
• Ph.D. Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Calcutta, India (2014)
• M.Sc. Physics, University of Calcutta, India (2009)
• B.Sc. (Hons) Physics, University of North Bengal, India (2007)

Specialisation: 

• Observational Astronomy at (sub-)millimeter/centimeter wavelengths (e.g., NASA DSN, IRAM 30m, GBT, NRO 45m and ARO 12m), interferometric observations at (sub-) millimeter wavelengths (e.g., ALMA and NOEMA), space telescope observations at near, mid and far-infrared wavelengths (JWST NIRSpec, JWST MIRI, Spitzer and Herschel science archive) along with SOFIA observations at Terahertz frequencies
• Tracing the fundamentals of star and planet formation
• Observing signatures of planet formation at high spatial resolution with Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in future
• Probing the connection between disks and Exoplanetary atmospheres
• ALMA observations to study physics, chemistry and dust structure in gas-rich protoplanetary disks
• Astrochemistry-the chemistry of various astronmoical environments  such as interstellar clouds, protostars, protplanetary disks and exoplanet atmospheres
• Astrobiology-the study of the origins, chemical evolution, and distribution of pre-biotic molecules in the Universe.
• Linking Astrophysics with Solar System Science and Cosmochemistry
• Future development and scientific capabilities of Square Kilometre Array (SKA), Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), Origin Space Telescope (OST), SPICA, and Habitable Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx) to revolutionize our understanding of planetary system formation
• Exoplanets and their atmospheric composition

Awards: 

• Fellow of Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS)
• Ramanujan Fellowship- Awarded by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, 2019
• 2019 ALMA Ambassador- Awarded by the North American ALMA Science Center, Funding-$10000
• Science Principal Investigator (PI)- The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Cycle 7 Priority 1 proposal-‘Where is the Water?’, Funding-$72,700
•  Science Principal Investigator (PI)- NASA ROSES Emerging World Program-‘Following the multi-isotope trail to understanding the formation and early evolution of our Solar System’, Funding-$506,195
• International Astronomical Union (IAU) 2019 Grant, Funding-€1008
• Associate of the Cradle of Life Science Working Group of Square Kilometre Array (SKA)
• Virtual Panellists of 2019 NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP)
• ngVLA community service round 2 approved program (https://ngvla.nrao.edu/page/commstudiesprogram) as a part of the process of building towards a final concept for the ngVLA.
• Reviewer for the Astrophysical Journal, Astrophysical Journal Letters, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Planetary and Space Science, ACS Earth and Space Chemistry, Astrobiology, Indian Journal of Physics
• Reviewer for NASA Future Investigators in Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) Astrophysics Program, NASA Fellowships, NASA Postdoctoral Grant (NPP) and NASA ROSES Grants
• Invited for NASA Panel Member of Exoplanet Research Program (XRP), Astrophysics Research and Analysis Program (APRA), and Astrophysics Data Analysis Program (ADAP)
• Invited for ALMA Technical Secretary position in 2019
• 2018 TMT-Early Career Initiative Researcher
• Research highlighted in Physics Today Article https://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.6.1.20171109b/full/ 
• Research highlighted in NASA Post-Doctoral Program (NPP) News letter
• NASA Postdoctoral Program Award
• 3 Years Post-Doctoral Fellowship from Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark in 2017 (Declined).
• 3 Years Post-Doctoral Fellowship from Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM) , Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) , Madrid, Spain in 2017 (Declined).
• CNRS Postdoctoral grant under ERC project
• Ph.D. Thesis work was highlighted in two ‘nature India’ articles with doi:10.1038/nindia.2013.28 & doi:10.1038/nindia.2014.155
• IAU 280 and IAU General Assembly student grant
• COSPAR student grant

 

Publications: 

In Refereed Journals:

33. N. Dzyurkevich, W. Lyra,  L. Majumdar, N. J. Turner, K. Willacy, C. Dullemond, 2019, Testing vortex properties with molecular lines in IRS 48, The Astrophysical Journal

32. V. Wakelam, P. Gratier, C. Vastel, M. Ruaud, R. Le Gal, L. Majumdar, J.-C. Loison, K. M. Hickson, 2019, Chemical composition of five Planck cold clumps, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (Submitted)

31. T. Suzuki, L. Majumdar, K. Tokuda, H. Minamoto, M. Ohishi, M. Saito, T. Hirota, 2019, Survey Observation of CH₃NH₂ using ALMA and its formation process, The Astrophysical Journal, arxiv:1909.00528

30. T. Suzuki, Y. Shinnaka, T. Shibata, Y. Shilbaike, L. Majumdar, H. Nomura, H. Minamoto, 2019, Possibility of condensation of glycine near the surface of comet 67P/C-G, The Astrophysical Journal, arxiv: 1901.05170

29. V. Wakelam, E. Chapillon, A. Dutrey, S. Guiloteau, W. Iqbal, A. Coutens, L. Majumdar, 2019, Protoplanetary disks: Sensitivity of the chemical composition to various model parameters, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 484, 1573

28. Y. Seo, L. Majumdar, P. F. Goldsmith, Y. Shirley, K. Willacy et al., 2019, An ammonia spectral map of the L1495-B218 filaments in the Taurus molecular cloud: II. Tracing recently accreted gas in CCS and HC₇N and three modes of star formation in the filaments, The Astrophysical Journal, 871, 134

27. I. Andron, P. Gratier, L. Majumdar, T. Vidal, A. Coutens J. C. Loison, and V. Wakelam, 2018, Methyl cyanide (CH₃CN) and propyne (CH₃CCH) in the low mass protostar IRAS16293-2422, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 481, 5659

26. K. Taniguchi, M. Saito, L. Majumdar et al., 2018, Chemical Composition in Three High-Mass Star-Forming Regions Containing Hot Cores Associated with the 6.7 GHz Methanol Masers, The Astrophysical Journal, 866, 150

25. T. Suzuki, L. Majumdar, M. Ohishi, M. Saito, T. Hirota, V. Wakelam, 2018, An expanded gas-grain model for interstellar glycine, The Astrophysical Journal, 863, 51

24. N. T. Phuong, E. Chapillon, L. Majumdar, S. Guilloteau, V. Pietu, V. Wakelam, P. N. Diep, T. Beck, J. Barry, 2018, The first detection of H₂S in protoplanetary disk: The dense GG Tau A ring, Astronomy and Astrophysics Letter, 616, L5

23. T. Suzuki, M. Ohishi, M. Saito, T. Hirota, L. Majumdar, V. Wakelam, 2018, The difference in abundance between N-bearing and O-bearing species in high-mass star forming regions, The Astrophysical Journal Supplementary Series, 237, 3

22. L. Majumdar, P. Gratier, V. Wakelam, E. Caux, K. Willacy, M. E. Ressler, 2018, Detection of HOCO⁺ in the protostar IRAS 16293-2422, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 477, 525

21. L. Majumdar, J. C. Loison, M. Ruaud, P. Gratier, V. Wakelam, A. Coutens, 2018, Methyl isocyanate: An important missing organic in current astrochemical networks, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters, 473, L59

20. L. Majumdar, P. Gratier, M. Ruaud, V. Wakelam, C. Vastel, O. Sipila, F. Hersant, A. Dutrey, S. Guiolloteau, 2017, Chemistry of TMC-1 with multiply deuterated species and spin chemistry of H₂, H₂⁺, H₃⁺ and their isotopologues, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 466, 4470. 

19. L. Majumdar, P. Gratier, I. Andron, V. Wakelam1, E. Caux, 2017, A study of singly deuterated cyclopropenylidene c-C₃HD in protostar IRAS 16293-2422, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 467, 3525.

18. P. Gorai, A. Das, L. Majumdar, B. Sivaraman, S. K. Chakrabarti, E. Herbst, 2017, The Possibility of Forming Propargyl Alcohol in the Interstellar Medium, Molecular Astrophysics, 6, 36. 

17. L. Majumdar, P. Gratier, T. Vidal, V. Wakelam, J. C. Loison, K. M. Hickson, E. Caux, Detection of CH₃SH in protostar IRAS 16293-2422, 2016, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 458, 1859.

16. T. Suzuki, M. Ohishi, T. Hirota, M. Saito, L. Majumdar, V. Wakelam, 2016, Survey observation of a possible Glycine Precursor Methanimine CH₂NH, The Astrophysical Journal, 825, 79.

15. P. Gratier, L. Majumdar, M. Ohishi, E. Rouef, J. C. Loison, K. M. Hickson, V. Wakelam, 2016, A new reference chemical composition for TMC-1, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 225, 25.

14. V. Wakelam, M. Ruaud, F. Hersant, A. Dutrey, D. Semenov, L. Majumdar, S. Guilloteau, 2016, Importance of the H₂ abundance in protoplanetary disk ices for the molecular layer chemical composition, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 594, A35.

13. A. Das, D. Sahu, L. Majumdar, S. K Chakrabarti, 2015, Deuterium enrichment of the interstellar grain mantle, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 455, 540.

12. L. Majumdar, P. Gorai, A. Das, S. K. Chakrabarti, 2015, Potential formation of three pyrimidine bases in interstellar regions, Astrophysics and Space Science, 360, 64. 

11. A. Das, L. Majumdar, D. Sahu, P. Gorai, B. Sivaraman, S. K. Chakrabarti, 2015, Methyl Acetate and its singly deuterated isotopomers in the interstellar medium, The Astrophysical Journal, 808, 21.

10. S. K. Chakrabarti, L. Majumdar, A. Das, S. Chakrabarti, 2015, Search for interstellar Adenine, Astrophysics and Space Science, 357, 90.

9. D. Sahu, A. Das, L. Majumdar, S. K. Chakrabarti, 2015, Monte Carlo simulation for the formation of molecular hydrogen and its deuterated forms, New Astronomy, 38, 23.

8. B. Sivaraman, N. Radhika, A. Das, G. Goopakumar, L. Majumdar, S. K. Chakrabarti, K. P. Subramanian, M Hada, 2015, Infrared Spectra and Chemical Abundance of Methyl Propionate in Icy Astrochemical Conditions, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 448, 1372.

7. A. Das, L. Majumdar, S.K. Chakrabarti, D. Sahu, 2015, Deuterium enrichment of the interstellar medium, New Astronomy, 35, 53.

6. L. Majumdar, A. Das, Sandip K. Chakrabarti, 2014, Formation of different isotopomers of Chloronium in the interstellar medium, The Astrophysical Journal, 782, 73.

5. L. Majumdar, A. Das, S. K. Chakrabarti, 2014, Spectroscopic characteristics of the cyanomethyl anion and its deuterated derivatives, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 562, 56.

4. A. Das, L. Majumdar, S. K. Chakrabarti, R. Saha, S. Chakrabarti, 2013, Formation of cyanoformaldehyde in interstellar space, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 433, 3152.

3. A. Das, L. Majumdar, S. K. Chakrabarti, S. Chakrabarti, 2013, Chemical evolution during the process of proto-star formation by considering a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model, New Astronomy, 23, 118.

2. L. Majumdar, A. Das, S.K Chakrabarti, S. Chakrabarti, 2013, Study the chemical evolution and spectral signatures of some interstellar precursor molecules of adenine, glycine and alanine, New Astronomy, 20, 15.

1. L. Majumdar, A. Das, S. K. Chakrabarti, S. Chakrabarti, 2012, Hydro-chemical study of the evolution of interstellar pre-biotic molecules during the collapse of molecular clouds, Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 12, 1613.

In Books:

L. Majumdar, The Interstellar Molecular Complexity., 2018, In: Mukhopadhyay B., Sasmal S. (eds) Exploring the Universe: From Near Space to Extra-Galactic.
Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, vol 53. Springer, Cham.

In White Papers:

M. Gudipati, S. Milam, A. R. Hendrix, B. Henderson, H. Linnartz, L. Majumdar, M. Nuevo, D. M. Paardekooper, E. M. Sciamma-O'Brien, R. Smith, N. Turner, K.
Willacy, From Interstellar Ice Grains to Evolved Planetary Systems: The Role of Laboratory Studies, Astro2020: Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics,
science white papers, no. 518; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 51, Issue 3, id. 518 (2019)

 

 

 

Recent Activities: 

Invited Talks:

1. Tracing the Origin of Planetary Systems with Multi-Wavelength Astronomy, 31^st May 2019, Centro de Astrobiologia, CSIC, Spain.

2. Chemical Composition and Physical Properties of Gases and Volatiles in Protostellar Envelopes and Planet-forming Disks: A New era of JWST, 6^th May 2019, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching, Germany.

3. Multi-wavelength Astronomy and the Origin of Planetary Systems, 5^th March 2019, Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, ASIAA, Taipei, Taiwan.

4. Astrochemistry and the Origin of the Planetary Systems, 19^th Feb 2019, National Radio Astronomy Observatory and University of Virginia Joint Colloquium, Charlottesville, USA.

5. Building Stars, Planets and the Ingredients for Life in Space, 30^th Nov 2018, California State University, Los Angeles, USA.

6. Chemistry from Clouds to Disks and Chemical Composition of Comets, August 2017, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA.

7. The Kinetic Database for Astrochemistry: Present and Future, 26^th November, 2015, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), Garching, Germany.

8. Chemical Evolution of Interstellar Medium: Modeling and Observation, 12^th May, Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planetologie (IRAP), Toulouse, France.

 

 

 

 

Responsibilities: 

• Active Member of 'The Chemistry in Disks (CID) Project' which is an international consortium among the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (Heidelberg, Germany), University of Bordeaux (Bordeaux, France), Institute de Radio astronomie Millimetrique (Grenoble, France), SETI Institute (Mountain View, USA), Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica (Taipei, Taiwan), Jena Observatory (Jena, Germany), University of Virginia (Charlottesville, USA), and Konkoly Observatory (Budapest, Hungary).
• Active Member of the International Space Science Institute (ISSI), Bern, Switzerland-  International Science Team Project- 'From Qualitative to Quantitative: Exploring the Early Solar System by Connecting Comet Composition and Protoplanetary Disk Models.'
• Active co-Investogator of a Guaranteed Time Observation (GTO) program- '1236 - Protostellar Binaries'  (http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/phase2-public/1236.pdf).
• Chair of the ALMA Community Day Event, NASA JPL/Caltech (https://science.nrao.edu/facilities/alma/naasc-workshops/nrao-cd-pasadena19)

Research: 

I am an astronomer doing astrophysics, astrochemistry, astrobiology, and planetary science. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor in the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences at NISER Bhubaneswar, India, and a visiting scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, USA.

I am interested in the physics and chemistry of simple and complex organic molecules in space from interstellar clouds, the birthplaces of stars, through to protoplanetary disks. These organics eventually seed planetary surfaces and atmospheres and play a role in the "Origin of Life."

I use numerical models, single dish telescope observations at (sub-) millimeter/centimeter wavelengths  (e.g., NASA DSN, IRAM 30m, GBT, NRO 45m and ARO 12m), interferometric observations at (sub-) millimeter wavelengths (e.g., ALMA and NOEMA), space telescope observations at near, mid and far-infrared wavelengths (JWST NIRSpec, JWST MIRI, Spitzer and Herschel science archive) along with SOFIA observations at Terahertz frequencies for my research.

I am also the co-investigator of a Guaranteed Time Observation (GTO) program of NASA's next flagship astrophysics mission James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study physics and chemistry of protostellar binaries in Perseus.

Currently, I am using the interferometric data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to study the evolution of volatile molecules in protoplanetary disks with the goal of determining the amount of volatile carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen available to form planets and to compare with the exoplanetary atmospheric compositions derived either from inverse retrieval code or chemical kinetics code.

I am also interested in linking disk models and observations to the origin of comets and have a strong desire to understand the source of the observed organics on them.

I also have a deep interest in the future development (technology) and scientific capabilities of WFIRST, SPICA, OST, SPHEREx, and HabEx mission (together with ground based facilities such as TMT and SKA) to revolutionize our understanding of planetary system formation and complete the census of the outer reaches of the Solar System.

Contacts: 

Dr. Liton Majumdar

National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER)

(An Autonomous Institute under the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India)

School of Earth and Planetary Sciences

Room No-03, Ground Floor, Library Building

P.O: Bhimpur - Padanpur, Via - Jatni, Khurda

Odisha, Pin 752050, INDIA

Email: liton@niser.ac.in

               

Phone No.: 

(+91)-674-2494482

Room No.: 

03

Mail ID: 

liton@niser.ac.in; liton.majumdar@jpl.nasa.gov

Personal Page: 

Star and Planetary Formation Group

Group Members: 

• Currently, at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA, I am co-supervising Jayden Buttler from California State University for his Master's Thesis on the physical structure and chemical composition of a class 0 protostar using the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA).

Other Links: 

                                             Vacancies

Postdoctoral Positions: Looking for hiring highly motivated and bright postdoctoral candidates interested in different areas of Astrochemistry and Astrobiology, Interstellar Medium, Star and Planet formation, Radio/sub-millimeter/infrared astronomy, Exo-Planetary and Cometary Science, Science case for 'SKA Cradle of Life Science' Consortium, Science case for 'TMT Stars and Planets Science' theme, Science case for 'Future Far-infrared missions' such as SPICA, OST etc.

The candidate will have access to the IRAM-30m, ARO-12m, Nobeyama-45m, ALMA Cycle 6 and 7, SOFIA Cycle 7 data as well as NASA's JWST-MIRI guaranteed time observations.   

PhDs with Physics/Astronomy & Astrophysics/Space Science/Planetary Science/Computational Chemistry/Physical Chemistry or relevant background may apply. Candidates with good scientific programming [e.g. Fortran, Python, IDL or similar langugage], astronomical data analysis [e.g. Radio or Sub-mm or Infrared or related analysis] or quantum chemical simulation [e.g. Gaussian, CFOUR or similar packages] skills are highly encouraged.

Please contact me (liton@niser.ac.in) with your CV, research interest and statement addressing the scientific objective.

Click for details https://www.niser.ac.in/notices/2019/recruitments/PDF-SEPS.pdf

Postdoc candidates through SERB-NPDF scheme are encouraged to contact me as well, liton@niser.ac.in.

Ph.D. Postions from July 2020:

MSc / Int. MSc. or relevant students, with Physics/Earth and Space Sciences/Astronomy & Astrophysics/Planetary Science/Chemistry or relevant background, and also who fulfilled the eligibility criteria of PhD applicants as per NISER/DAE, may apply. 

Right now, I am mostly working on some of the unique fundamental questions about exoplanets, star and planet formation: (a) What physical processes play a role in the formation of stars? (b) How do planets grow from disks of gas and dust around young stars? (c) What is the chemical evolution of interstellar material on its voyage from clouds to forming stars and ultimately to newborn planets? How common are the ingredients for life such as water, and do they naturally evolve as part of new planets? (d) What is the inventory of organics and water in regions of planet formation, particularly in the habitable zone? Did delivery of exogenous organics and water enable the emergence and evolution of life? In short: Why is Earth wet and alive? (e) How can we watch other solar systems form? What does the composition of the Earth and other Solar System objects tell us about how they formed? (f) Can we find evidence for habitability elsewhere in the present day Solar System, and habitable environments in extra-solar planets? Would this evidence inform the delivery of exogenous prebiotic matter to Earth? (g) How many Earth-like planets exist? Do they have atmospheres? In other words, is Earth unique?

Internships and Summer Project: Internship positions are available for motivated and research minded young students to work on the various ongoing research projects in collaboration with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, USA. Due to high volume of emails with such requests, I may not be able to reply to all individuals.